Shadows
by gibbsrossi
Summary: Sometimes your past should remain in the shadows...sometimes it doesn't. This is a teamfic with a strong Nate / Sophie slant.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Eliot stared at the man sitting at the far end of the room at a small table with a bottle of whiskey in front of him. The words of Sophie rang in his head. "If he breaks again…I don't even think we could put him back together" She had said it then. That was more than three years ago, but it was true then and it was true now. Sophie was not there to advise him of what to do. She was not there to tell him how to help the man who sat drowning himself in the corner of the room, because she was the cause of all of it, Sophie was gone. Not dead, although she might as well have been. No, she was gone, she had left, leaving Nate and the rest of her family for the second time in the six years they had been together. She had walked away. She had left Nate, who had managed to rebuild himself, managed to drag himself out of the hole had had buried himself in, so much so that he had asked the woman to be his wife, and she had accepted. Damn her Eliot thought to himself, his brows knotting at the thought of the woman. He did not know why she had left he did not know where she had gone. But she had given Nate the ring back and told him she had made a mistake and that she could not marry him. She could not be with him. Then she had turned to the others and told them that she was leaving, she was going and she would never return. She had broken him, Eliot had never seen the look on Nate's face before, but imagined it was similar to the one he must have had when he had realised his son was lost to him. She had broken him and she knew that if he broke again, putting him back together was not going to be easy, if even possible. Not only had she broken him, she had shattered their family.

Eliot did not know what to do. Parker had run after she had left and Hardison had gone after her. He had not seen them for three days, although Hardison had let him know that Parker was safe and that they were at her warehouse. He had told him that he would do whatever it took to find Sophie and that they would get her back…he had said this in with a pleading in his voice, hoping for reassurance from Eliot that they would indeed get her back. Eliot could not give him that assurance. He did not know what was going on, why Sophie had suddenly left, why Nate had not gone after her, why any of this was happening. Nate had not drawn a sober breath for the last three days, since she had left. Eliot had spent the days watching the man, making sure he was taken care of, trying to get him to have something to eat, trying to make sure that he at least slept in his own bed, tried to keep him safe, physically if not emotionally. He felt he should be out there looking for Sophie and finding out exactly what the woman was doing. He had a bad feeling, a feeling that Sophie needed him, needed Nate, needed all of them. But he could not leave Nate, not in this condition. Hardison was trying to track her but had lost her shortly after the hotel they had traced her to. Sophie had more aliases that they would ever know about and finding her was not going to be an easy thing.

As for himself, Eliot was not sure how he felt. He was angry as hell, but at the same time he was afraid, afraid not only for Nate and the others, but for Sophie too. The woman would not have left if something serious was not going on. She loved Nate of that he had no doubt. He had known that from the first time they had met her in that dark alley outside the little theatre she was acting in. She loved all of them. She felt like their mother in a way, especially with regards Parker; and Eliot knew she would never leave them without have a damn good reason for it. Yes the first time she had left it had a lot to do with her relationship with Nate and all of them knew that. She wanted more than he was willing to give. Besides she had never really left, they had spoken to her daily; she was there for them when they needed her but that was not the case this time. Nate had got down on one knee and offered himself to her. He had taken that step that she had been waiting for and she had accepted him. They were supposed to live happily ever after…this was not supposed to be happening. Or was Nate right? The words he had uttered to her before she had slapped him and then walked out of all of their lives. Was this just a con, the last almost six years? She had conned them before, had she just used them to fill those years. No not possible. Sophie loved them, she loved Nate and something was wrong. The only problem was he had no idea what and his hands were tied. Parker was still hiding out in her warehouse with Hardison and Nate…well Nate was drowning himself with whiskey.

He was also angry with Nate. He had not reacted in the way he had thought he would, in the way he should have. He had thought Nate would go after Sophie. Get Hardison and all of them to work to find out what the hell was going on, where she was going, why she was leaving. Surly the man knew Sophie would not leave if something was not terribly wrong. Instead he had disappeared into a bottle, not speaking to anybody, not bothering to even try and phone her, not that he could have it he had tried, Hardison had traced her phone to a hotel room and when they had got there they had found all of her personal stuff, her phone, her watch and jewellery she had been wearing, everything that Hardison could have possibly had a bug in to track her with. That alone should have rung Nate's bells, but nothing, he did not even want to try to find her, he seemed not in the least interested in getting her back, and the only thing he seemed intent on was getting drunk and staying that way. Sophie had obviously planned this, whatever it was meticulously, but why? That was the question he was asking himself and the question he had thought Nate would be trying to find the answer to, but instead the man had just let her leave. He came out of his reverie as he saw the man himself stand unsteadily from his seat moving forward to help him if necessary.

"I'm fine Eliot." Nate said as he saw the Hitter approach.

"You're drunk." Eliot replied the disgust mingled with sorrow clear in his voice.

"Really…?" Nate said looking up at the Hitter. Eliot looked into the washed out blue eyes that were normally so clear and piercing. "I never noticed."

"Nate…"

"You are not my father Eliot …Just back off alright." Nate said moving toward the front door of the brewpub. "I need some air…"

Eliot frowned watching as the man walked unsteadily towards the exit. He knew he had to go after him…he was in no condition to be wondering around in the streets in his condition, besides it was almost three in the morning, where the hell did he think he was going? Eliot watched as Nate made his way outside and waited for a few minutes before sighing deeply and following the Mastermind out. He grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open walking out into the cold Portland night. Eliot stared down the street casting his eyes left and right. He had expected to see Nate staggering down the street, or leaning against the doorway or even lying prone on the ground. The man was very drunk so he should not have gotten far, not in the few minutes he had been outside.

"Nate…" He called out. Goddammit… "Nate…" He called again his stomach knotting as he quickly scanned the street again but not seeing the man anywhere. "Dammit Nate answer me." He almost shouted.

Eliot moved quickly forward keeping his eyes on the ground to see if there was any sign of where the Mastermind could have gotten to. He stopped and the knot in his stomach tightened as he stared down. Nate's mobile, his wallet and his watch were lying in the gutter. What the hell was going on? He bent down and picked up the items and then walked into the road. He had not heard a car and the road was completely deserted. He scanned the area looking for any sign of what could have happened. He found no sign of a struggle, no blood, no indication of what had happened to Nate at all. He pulled out his phone and dialled Hardison's number as he moved swiftly back into the brewpub heading to their offices at the back. Nate could not have run away, he was too drunk for that, he must have been taken, but by who and how and most importantly why?

**Ok well that is the start of my new story. I hope you all enjoy. Carebare818 sorry it took so long to get another one out, but here it is…**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sophie took a deep breath before turning to the group of people she had called together. She walked up to Nate trying to avoid his eyes as he watched her. She fumbled with the ring on her finger and then reached out to Nate taking his hand and placing the ring into it and folding it closed.

"I can't marry you Nate." She said softly.

"What…" Nate said the shock evident in his voice. "Sophie…"

"I just can't be with you. I made a mistake…" Sophie said shaking her head. She was calm and her voice remained emotionless but she kept her eyes locked on the Mastermind. "I'm sorry Nate…"

Nate looked down at the ring and then back at the woman and Eliot could see a look on his face that tore his heart out.

"I…" Sophie said turning towards the other three people in the room. "I am sorry. I can't stay here. I…I have to go." She said looking at each of them in turn. "This is not about you, or about…about us…it's about me and I have to…I have to take some time." She said stammering slightly, her composure crumbling as she spoke to them. "I love you all…" She said turning to Nate. "I really do. But I…" She sighed and cast her eyes to the ground. "I just can't do this."

"You…you're leaving us?" Parker whispered her eyes piercing the Grifter soul. Sophie forced herself to look at her as she spoke.

"Parker I have to go. I have to…"

"You already went to find yourself…why do you have to go away again?" Parker asked sounding like a lost child.

"I…" Sophie took a deep breath. "I just have to Parker…I am sorry." She said. "Look we were out anyway, you are…You are doing well on your own and…"

"Don't…" Hardison said shaking his head and she could see the emotion in his eyes as he stared at her. "Don't say it because it's not the same as just getting out of the game, you are leaving. You are leaving us…your family."

"Yes I am." Sophie stated. "I am sorry…" She said turning to Nate. "I made a mistake and I am sorry…I can't do this, I can't be a…I am who I am and I can't do this anymore." She said.

Sophie gave them each a last look and then picked up her bag and walked out of the Leverage International Offices, leaving three pairs of eyes starting after her. They were all in shock, this was not what they had expected when Sophie had asked them all to meet at the brewpub, this was in fact so out of the blue it was catching them all off guard. Nate waited for a beat and then followed her out catching up to her in the street. He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him.

"Sophie…?"

"Let go of me Nate…" She said pulling her arm away from him.

"I don't understand." Nate said keeping his eyes locked on her. She raised her eyes her chocolate browns meeting his ice blue ones.

"I know. I am sorry, believe me. I thought this was what I wanted; I thought you were what I wanted, but…"

"Don't lie to me Sophie." Nate hissed.

"Ok, I won't. I am leaving. I am leaving you, and them, and Leverage and everything. I am not cut out to be a wife. I was fooling myself to think I was. I should never have come back three years ago and I should never have stayed. I do love you Nate…just not enough." Sophie said her voice hard. "Now I am leaving. Don't come after me, don't try to phone me. Sophie Devereaux is dead, she dies today, do you understand Nate…?"

"I…" Nate shook his head slowly never taking his eyes off of her not even for a second. "Then go. Just don't think I am going to come after you again. You are a selfish bitch Sophie, leave me, if that is what you want. Give the ring back and call off the wedding…but Parker, Hardison and Eliot…that is just…" Nate paused for a moment trying to think of the right words. "Just like a Grifter…is that what this was to you Sophie, just a long con…?"

Sophie stared at him and then without thinking about it her hand flew to his face slapping him hard. Nate's head turned to the side and then he turned back to her. He gave a hard smile one which did not reach his blue eyes that swam in unshed tears.

"Goodbye Nate…" She said turning around and climbing into the cab that had been waiting for her.

Nate watched as she drove away and felt the presence of the others as they gathered behind him also watching the cab drive away. Parker stared after the car and then at Nate. She blinked away the tears that threatened and then bolted.

"Par…Parker…" Hardison said as the blonde disappeared down the street. Hardison turned around and watched as the cab turned the corner and was out of view, then looked at Nate and then Eliot. Eliot nodded at the Hacker and Hardison nodded back then turned and dashed towards his parked car. He knew where Parker would go and he would be waiting there for her.

"Nate…" Eliot said softly.

Nate ignored the Hitter and turned around walking right passed him. He walked into the brewpub and up to the bar grabbing a bottle of whiskey as he went. The Mastermind made his way to a table in the back and sat down pouring himself a drink. He held it to his lips only for a moment then closed his eyes and threw the whiskey back and felt it burn as it slid down his throat.

**So what do you think is going on? Where has Sophie gone and why? Thank you all for the great reviews they are appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Nate came awake and stretched his arm out reaching for the woman who would within the next few months be his wife. The bed however was empty, the sheets cold. He cracked his eyes open and stared at the empty bed. On the pillow was a note. He picked it up and pushed himself higher in the bed, opening the note as he did.

_My darling Nate_

_Something has happened and I can't explain. I need to leave, I need you to let me leave and I also need you to make sure that they do not follow me. Nate I need to you to be the man you where, I need you to be convincing, and I need you to make sure they are safe, I am sorry I can't say more. I love you Nate, never doubt that no matter what happens. I promise I will explain everything, but I am asking you to trust me, please my darling. We need to play their game. You have to make it real and convincing because we are being watched. I love you Nate, more than words could say and I promise I will contact you as soon as I can, but for now, trust me, let me go._

_Love always, Sophie_

The note was definitely in Sophie's handwriting and as Nate reread it his brows knotted. What the hell was going on? Play along? Be your old self? Make sure they, and he was sure she meant the others, did not follow her, did not try to follow her…how did she think he was going to get that right? Who was watching them, watching her? For whom were they going to put on a show? Where was she going? Why did she have to go anywhere? Trust her…he did, with his life. Nate folded the note and carefully placed it in his pocked. He checked the time on the clock beside the bed. It was already half past nine. Quickly he got up and made his way through to the shower taking his phone along and dialling Sophie's number as he did. The phone went straight to voicemail and he frowned in frustration. Once he was dressed he made his way down to his car. Climbing into the car he checked the mirrors but saw nothing to cause alarm; the basement was deserted with most of the tenants of their building having already left for work. He started the car and drove slowly out into the street keeping his eyes fixed on his mirrors, fully expecting to see somebody following him. He pulled up outside of the brewpub and sat for a few minutes in the car. It was now a quarter to twelve. He climbed out of the car and made his way into the pub and to the back where the Leverage International Offices were situated.

"Hey Nate…what is your wife to be up to…?" Hardison greeted him as he walked in. "I mean summoning us here and all…" He smiled at the Mastermind.

"They are moving the wedding up right…" Eliot said as he joined them. "Can't wait?"

"Where is Sophie?" Parker asked coming out of the kitchen with a box of cereal in her hands. "She said we were to meet you guys here at twelve sharp."

"I got the same instructions guys…" Nate said walking over to the wet bar and pouring himself a small glass of whiskey.

Nate did not know what Sophie was going to do but she needed him to be there for her. He did not want to play this game but he was in the dark. He had no idea what was going on but one thing he did know, Sophie would not have left him that note, would not be doing what she was if it was not the only way. If he did not play along and do what Sophie asked, could that put her in danger? He did not want to take that chance. He trusted her, trusted her implicitly and although his first instinct was to get hold of her and get her to tell him what the hell was going on she had said they were being watched. That meant that if he did not play along he was going to endanger her and possible the others. He presumed that Sophie meant he should make their breakup and her leaving look and feel real. Did Sophie realise what that would do to the others, especially Parker. Nate shook his head slightly as he downed his glass. Of course she did he told himself, she must think there is no other way.

"You don't know what she's up to either?" Eliot asked raising his eyebrows slightly and breaking into Nate's thoughts.

"Not a clue." Nate affirmed trying not to act worried.

"Good you are all here…" Sophie said as she walked in drawing all eyes to her. She made a point of not going near Nate and walked straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She took a deep breath and then turned towards them.

**So Sophie is definitely in some kind of trouble, trouble that she wants to protect Nate and the rest of the crew from. What do you think it could be? Thank you all again for the lovely reviews, they really inspire me to continue.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The last two months of Sophie Devereaux's life had been the happiest of her life. Nate had asked her to marry him. She still felt like she had to pinch herself to make herself believe it. She had not expected it. The last few months before their last job she had picked up on small things, like him saying he needed to move on, like him telling her they meant something, that he wanted to build something. He had never said the words 'I love you' not even once during that whole time so when he had sunk to one knee that day and asked her to be his wife she was completely taking by surprise.

Since that day she had been very busy, with the theatre and with arranging the wedding. She and Nate had discussed it and decided that they would stay in Portland. She did not want to give up her theatre and her students to start over. He on the other hand had for once not even had one single plan as to what he was going to do. When she had asked him he had said he would think of something. She knew why he wanted out. It had nothing to do with not wanting to do the job anymore and all about not wanting her to be involved any more. He wanted her safe, out of harm's way. Besides he knew she loved what she was doing now, with the theatre, she had said it herself… she felt for the first time that she was exactly where she wanted to be doing exactly what she wanted to do. She loved it. She also knew however that Nate could not sit around doing nothing. He needed the con, he needed the game and as much as she had faith in the other three members of their unconventional family, they needed him. So she had talked him into staying in Portland knowing that if he was around, they would 'consult' with him on jobs. He did not need to be involved to deeply, just the planning.

Sophie pulled into the basement parking of the theatre, she had a class in a few minutes and because of Nate she was late. She smiled as she recalled the reason she had left the house late that morning. She loved lying in Nate's arms in bed and usually he would make sure she was on time for her classes but that morning he had not wanted to get up either. Parking the car she climbed out and turned to lock it when she felt something press into her back.

"Don't turn around and don't say anything just listen…" A voice said sending shivers down her spine. She knew that voice. "You have to leave here. You have to make sure you leave alone. You have to make sure they know you are leaving alone. Your family are in danger and so are you."

"I…"

"Don't talk." The voice interrupted her. "I will meet you in two days. You know where. Make sure you come alone, for their sakes and your own."

Then the pressure in her back was gone and silence filled the air. Sophie slowly turned around to find a deserted basement. She did not bother trying to find the person knowing they would be gone. Quickly she locked the car and made her way into the theatre. Her students were all waiting for her as she walked in.

"Ok guys…sorry I am late…gather round…" She said as she walked to the front of the group. "I have to go away for a while. Jason, you are in charge. Make sure that you keep doing your exercises. When I get back, I want them to be perfect OK?" She said quickly looking over the group of faces that stared at her questioningly.

"Ok…" Jason Mulroney said smiling at her not wanting to ask where she was going, this was not the first time she had disappeared for a few days.

"Right...Now I have to go." Sophie said trying to keep the angst and the worry from her voice.

Sophie walked out of the theatre and back to her car. She approached it carefully her eyes sweeping the area watching for any movement. Once in the car she pulled out the mobile she had lifted from one of her student, a pang of guilt running through her. She sighed and then dialled a number. After finishing making all her arrangements she started the car and headed for the exit, stopping briefly before turning into the street to dispose of the stolen phone. She had to make sure Hardison could not trace her at all or any calls she makes. She drove straight home from their and gathered what she thought she would need for her trip. As little as possible and took it down to the car before Nate arrived back at the apartment.

"Hey beautiful…" He said in a surprised voice as he walked in to find her pouring herself a glass of wine. "What are you doing home…?" He said moving to stand behind her and grabbing her round the waist pulling her into him. "Not that I am complaining." She smiled into her hair.

"Classes finished early and I thought we could…" Sophie said putting her glass around and twisting round to kiss him. "Do something with the rest of the afternoon…" She whispered between kisses.

"Oh you are a naughty girl…Bad influence on me…" Nate smiled back kissing her deeply. "I am sure I can think of something to keep us busy…" He said pulling her tightly to him. She wrapped her arms around him and clung tightly. "You alright…?" He asked pulling back slightly to look at her.

"Fine…" She smiled. "Just missed you is all…"

"Well 'soon to be Mrs Ford'…" He said taking her hand and leading her towards their bedroom. "Let me show you how much I missed YOU…"

"Oh Nate…" Sophie said allowing herself to be led into the bedroom.

It was well into late evening when they emerged from the room to make some food. They sat for the rest of the evening and late into the night sitting on the sofa talking. Sophie started reminiscing about their trips around Europe when he had chased her as an IYS agent. She had insisted on revisiting all the places they had been together, and told him of some of the places she had been without him chasing her. He was not sure what had brought on the need to revisit all of it but indulged her, just liking to listen to her voice. Something in the back of Nate's mind was telling him something was wrong, but he could not put a finger on it. His sixth sense for danger was causing alarm bells to ring in his head. It was almost one in the morning when they finally made it back to bed and Nate was almost immediately asleep. Sophie lay staring up at the ceiling listening to him breathing, a lone tear slipped from her eye and down her cheek.

"I am so sorry Nate…" She whispered to the sleeping man.

Sophie quietly climbed out of the bed taking her bag as she made her way to her dressing table. She took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote a short note before climbing back into the bed and snuggling up to Nate who stirred slightly and wrapped his arm around hers. The next morning she was up early. She quickly showered and changed, sending messages to the rest of the Leverage family telling them to meet her at twelve at the brewpub. She leaned over and kissed Nate softly on his forehead making sure not to wake him.

"I love you Nathan Ford…" She said looking down at the sleeping man. "If I don't come back then you have to know that. I will always love you." She said a tear slipping once more from her eye. She left the note on the pillow beside him and then made her way down to the basement.

**Who is it that is threatening Sophie? I hope you are all still enjoying the story and thank you to those who have taken the time to review, they are all greatly appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nate grabbed the bottle of whiskey and stalked over to the table in the far corner of the brewpub. He did not want to speak to any of them right now. He had played along in a game he wanted nothing to do with. Sophie was obviously in trouble, in danger and she was asking him to leave her alone, to let her go. He hated doing it but he knew Sophie and if this was all she could do then it was all she could do. She had said she would contact him. She had asked him to trust her. He would, he would be the man he used to be. He lifted the glass to his lips and downed the glass of amber liquid feeling the burn again and liking it. He could feel Eliot's eyes on him. He could feel his concern for him and his reaction to the situation. He knew Parker had run and that Hardison had gone after her. He could not do anything about that, he had to make them believe that he was not going to go after Sophie. She was right, not that that surprised him in the least. They would stay with him, they would make a move when he did. Hardison he was sure though would be getting to work trying to track Sophie but knowing the woman, after chasing her all those years, that was not going to happen, when Sophie Devereaux wanted to disappear she would. Eliot would stay with him, especially if he was drinking again. Pouring another glass he threw it back and then sighed heavily as he refilled the glass.

It was two days after Sophie had left and Eliot had just escorted a drunk Nate back to the crash pads in the Leverage offices. Eliot watched as Nate fell onto the bed and almost immediately started to snore softly indicating that he had passed out. Eliot turned and walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Nate waited until the man had left and then sat up in the bed and ran his hand over his face. It had been two days and he had still not got any message from Sophie. He was not sure how long he was going to be able to keep up the charade. The only thing keeping him going was the thought that if he did not do as Sophie had asked she could die. He ran the last conversations with her over and over again in his mind. Why had she wanted to reminisce that night? Was there a clue in what they spoke about? Was this about something from her past…He laughed at himself quietly, of course this was about her past, what else could it be about? He moved to the window and looked out at the empty streets below. It was early in the morning and the streets were devoid of life. As he stared out into the darkness, he went over it all again, trying to isolate each place they had talked about and remember what exactly had happened during those times. He closed his eyes running his hand over his face again. Dammit Sophie…he thought to himself, you need to give me something…he whispered softly. Suddenly he straightened and smiled slightly.

"That's my girl…" He said softly.

Nate turned back to his bed and sat down. His mind was working overtime now. Sophie needed him and she was in danger that was clear, but from what he had just seen, she was ready to have him help her. The next day he continued drinking, Eliot hovered around making sure he did not get into any trouble and by three am he was ready. He got up and staggered slightly as he made his way to the door. He had a brief exchange with Eliot and then pushed passed him and out the door. Once he was out the door he quickly dumped his watch, wallet and mobile into the gutter and then moved swiftly out of the street and down the alley bedside the brewpub. He heard Eliot exit the pub and curse when he found his discarded merchandise. Eliot called his name repeatedly and Nate felt a pang of guilt as he heard the fear in the Hitter's voice. He saw the man walk down the street studying the road surface to try to determine what had happened. Nate crept out and watched as Eliot made his way back into the brewpub pulling out his phone at the same time. Once Eliot was inside a car pulled up stopping directly in front of the alley. Nate moved stealthfully out of the alley and toward the car. The back door opened and he climbed in. The car then pulled off slowly careful to make as little noise as possible.

"Mr Ford…" The driver said over his shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Where is Sophie…"

"Straight to the point, I like that. She said you were a man of few words." The man replied.

"Sophie…?"

"She is fine Nate…can I call you Nate?" He asked looking at Nate through the mirror. "She is taking a chance in doing this but she insists that you will be able to help in the situation we currently find ourselves in. You know I feel like I know you already…Marion…or Sophie has told me all about you. I am happy for you two, she deserves some happiness."

"What is this all about?" Nate asked looking around nervously to make sure they were not being followed.

"I think I will leave that to her to explain."

Nate sat back in the seat and stared at the man, looking at him through the mirror. He was an oldish man, in his late fifties, or early sixties he determined. He had a cultured English accent and Nate was sure he came from an educated background and was probably from a wealthy family. He had a full head of thick black hair and piercingly grey blue eyes that were full of intelligence. He spoke with a commanding air and Nate could tell he was a man who was used to giving order and having them followed.

"Trying to figure out who I am?" The man smiled at Nate. "My name is Michael Carrington."

"Where do you know Sophie from?"

"Marion…sorry Sophie helped me out on a few occasions many years ago. I am afraid she is now paying for those efforts."

"Helped you out with what?"

"Again, I think I will allow your wife to elaborate." Michael said softly.

"We flying somewhere…?" Nate asked noting the direction Michael was driving in and knew it was towards a small airfield.

"Very observant Mr Ford…" Michael replied. "I have a Gulfstream waiting for us."

"Where are we going?"

"To Sophie, that is all you need to know right now."

Nate noted the tone of the man's voice. He was not going to tell Nate any more than what he had and questioning him further would be fruitless. He turned his head and stared out into the darkness, racking his brain to try and find something in the stories Sophie had told him about her past to link to this Michael Carrington, but was coming up blank. For now he had to wait until he got to Sophie. Until then there was nothing he could do.

**Thank you all so very much for your reviews, they are greatly appreciated. So what was Sophie involved in with Michael. How will the others react to Nate also disappearing? How will Sophie and Nate's reunion go? I know you are all dying to find out what is going on and I promise to reveal soon…**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Eliot pulled out his phone as he moved back into the pub. He dialled Hardison's number, then he stopped and turned running out the door just in time to see the car disappear around the corner. Cursing softly he turned back in and quickly made his way to the Leverage offices. That was the second time in only a few days he had watched somebody he cared about drive away without knowing where they were going and how much trouble was waiting for them.

"Eliot…" Hardison's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hardison Nate is gone."

"Gone…what do you mean gone…?" Hardison said his voice betraying his surprise and fear.

"Gone dammit…" Eliot hissed. "I need you and Parker here now."

"We'll be there in thirty." Hardison said and hung up the phone. Nate was gone, Sophie had left, what the hell was going on?

"Girl we gotta go now…"

"Why, what's happened…" Parker said sitting up on the bed she had been practically glued to for the last three days. "Has something happened to Sophie?" She asked fear in her voice and her eyes.

"No…Nate…" Hardison said holding open the door to the warehouse. At his words Parker flew past him and was in the car before he realised what was happening. He climbed into the car and she pulled off immediately. Hardison thought it was best not to say anything as Parker sped through the deserted early morning streets. He just hung on and said a silent prayer.

They arrived at the brewpub in record time to find Eliot pacing up and down as he waited for them.

"What happened?" Parker asked as she walked in and saw the Hitter.

"I don't know. Nate was drunk and he said he needed some air and went outside and I followed him five minutes later and he was gone. He was picked up by somebody in a car, it was just going out of sight when I realised. Hardison can you get camera's, there are traffic cams right?"

"Yeah man…" Hardison said immediately getting to work. It took him only a few minutes to bring up the camera's on the big screen.

"Yeah he was picked up man but he was not taken…" Hardison said as they watched Nate creep out of the alley he had been hiding in and getting into the car.

"What the hell is going on?" Eliot asked watching as Hardison tracked the car until it had disappeared into an area where there were no camera's.

"I don't know." Parker said also watching the feed. "This has got something to do with Sophie leaving. She left for a reason and Nate has gone after her."

"Ok I get that." Hardison agreed noting that Parker was over the depressed lost child stage and into the Mastermind mode she had assumed after Nate had retired from Leverage. "But who is the guy who picked him up and where were they going and why did Sophie have to leave and…"

"Ok Hardison we get it." Eliot said rolling his eyes. "You have a lot of questions, we all do, now let's get some answers."

"How do we do that?" Hardison asked looking at the Hitter.

"Well we need to find out where they were headed." Parker said thinking to herself. "Hardison is there anything outside of town in that direction…"

"Like what?" Hardison said starting to fire up his search engines.

"Like an abandoned farm house." Eliot said.

"Yes or isolated property or…"

"A private airstrip…?" Hardison said looking up smugly at the other two and putting up an image on the screen.

"Let's go…" Eliot said feeling in his gut that that was where Nate and the mystery man were headed.

He was followed out of the pub by the others. They made their way to Eliot's car and set off, tyres squealing, in the direction of the airstrip. Approaching the place they found it deserted. There were one or two planes parked and one car.

"Eliot?"

"Yeah that's it." Eliot nodded as he looked the car over.

"There is a light on there." Parker said pointing to the little building on the far end of the runway.

Eliot moved directly towards the building with the other two in tow. They could not be too careful, they had no idea what could be waiting for them. Eliot signalled to them to stop as they drew closer and then peered into the window. He saw a man sitting alone in the room and nodded to the other two as he opened the door.

"Can I help you?" The man asked as he looked up from the television he was watching.

"I am looking for some information." Eliot said moving fully into the room and knowing the other two had followed him in.

"A plane took off from here about an hour ago. We want it's flight plan."

"Now look…"

"I really don't have time to explain, just give us the information and there will be no trouble." Eliot said stepping forward with a hard look on his face, one that mostly did the trick when he was dealing with civilians.

"I…I…" The man stuttered. "I don't want any trouble…"

"Where was the plane going?" Eliot repeated.

"I don't know…I…they didn't file a flight plan."

"You're lying." Parker said her voice icy cold. "Nobody flies without a flight plan."

"Look Miss I know you ain't supposed to but…well he…I don't earn much here and…"

"Dammit…"

"He flew the plane himself. Him and his friend left about thirty minutes ago." The man said trying to be as helpful as possible in order to avoid any kind of physical damage to himself.

"Can we track it?" Eliot asked turning to Hardison.

"Can we track it…Can we…" Hardison said in an exasperated voice. "No we can't track it…how the hell can I track it…?" Hardison said frustrated with the question and the answer.

"So we have nothing." Eliot said slamming his fist into the wall making the night watch jump with fright, even Hardison and Parker were a little taken aback, Eliot never let go of his emotions in that way, not in front of them, let alone a stranger.

"Wait a minute…wait just one damn minute…" Hardison said drawing all their eyes.

"What…" Parker asked when he said nothing further.

"I think there is a way. If they land at any airport then…well all planes are registered and they will have to request landing rights and…"

"So you can track them." Eliot smiled. "What is the registration of that plane?" Eliot said turning back to the man who quickly and with shaking hands handed Eliot the registration of the plane in question.

"Did you doubt me…?" Hardison asked as he took the papers from Eliot. "We should get back to the offices, I am going to need all my little web crawlers to pull this off."

"Right." Eliot said and led them out of the hut leaving a very confused and relieved man in their wake.

Once they arrived back at the Leverage Offices, Hardison immediately got to work.

"Now all we have to hope for is that they land at an airport and not a private airstrip." Hardison told them as he punched in the search criteria.

**I know you were all expecting the reunion between Sophie and Nate. I promise it is coming. Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The ride to the airstrip went smoothly and they transferred to the plane. Nate watched as Michael paid the night duty manager to let him leave without filing any flight plans and then they boarded the plane.

"You are a pilot?" Nate said when Michael took his seat in the cockpit.

"One of my many talents..." Michael smiled at him.

Nate nodded and took his seat in the co-pilots booth.

"Care to tell me where we are flying to?" Nate asked as he watched the man go through the pre-take off procedures. "And while you are at it you can tell me why Sophie is involved with an MI5 agent."

"You really are all Sophie said you were." Michael said as he started to taxi the plane out. "I am retired though, too old for that sort of thing you know. As to where we are going, to a safe house, Sophie is there."

"How bad is the trouble?"

"Bad Mr Ford…Particularly bad. However I promised your wife that I would leave all explanations up to her." Michael told him. "Now perhaps you would like to take a nap, it is quite a flight and you my dear man, quite frankly, look exhausted."

Nate smiled at Michael and sat back in his seat. Silence fell over the cockpit as Michael flew to their destination and Nate drifted off into sleep. He was exhausted; it had been a long three days.

"Ah…impeccable timing." Michael said as he noticed his companion was awake.

Nate looked over at him and then peered out the window. He did not know where they were, the land around looked barren and the airstrip was barely that. He was sure they had not left the US, the flight time had been around two hours. Somewhere in Nevada he thought, due to the desert landscape. He could see a car parked at the side of a small shack like building with a windsock in front of it. Michael landed the plane smoothly and they disembarked with Michael leading him to the car he had seen. Michael climbed into the car and Nate followed suite and then they set off down the dusty road. Neither man spoke as they sped along, Nate taking the time to survey his surroundings and go over everything that had happened over the past few days. After an hour they approached a small compound at the top of a rocky outcrop. It was isolated and Nate noticed fairly well guarded, although not obviously so. Michael drove up towards the house and Nate immediately noticed Sophie who stood waiting for them at the foot of the stairs. She was dressed in a flowing white sun dress and despite the situation Nate found himself thinking how beautiful she was. As they pulled up Sophie approached the car and moved to the passenger side as Nate climbed out.

"Oh Nate…" Sophie breathed as she flung her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Nate wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to him. "I am so sorry I didn't have a choice." She whispered in his ear as they held each other.

They pulled apart as Michael cleared his throat loudly.

"Perhaps we should take this reunion inside?" He said raising an eyebrow at them and then casting his eyes over the landscape. "It is rather warm out here."

Nate looked up at him and smiled slightly. Sophie took his arm and led him into the house following Michael. The house was small but clean and comfortably furnished. Sophie led Nate into the sitting room and then glanced at Michael who acknowledged her plea with a smile and a nod.

"Well I will leave you too alone. I think your wife has some explaining to do." He said and then left closing the sliding doors to the room behind him.

"Nate I…" Sophie started to say when Nate pulled her too him and silenced her with a kiss.

"I forgive you. Don't ever do that to me again…" He said staring into her eyes and running his hand through her hair. "Now tell me what is going on." He said kissing her gently on the forehead.

"I don't know where to start." Sophie said sitting back slightly but not removing her hand from his.

"At the beginning Sophie…" Nate said seriously. If he was going to help her he needed to know the whole story, from when it started, whenever that was.

"Right…" Sophie said taking a deep breath. "It was during the summer of 1989. I was in Berlin, for various reasons, one of which being my interest in a certain painting. The man who was rumoured to have this painting was a wealthy businessman who did business with the British government in regards military deals. That was when Michael approached me. He was working for MI5 at the time and needed to get information from the man. Things were very, let's say tenuous what with the wall and everything, and well I was young and Michael appealed to my sense of adventure. I cultivated the man for him and we got the information that Michael needed."

"But something went wrong?" Nate asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Michael was on his way to arrest him but he was killed in a car accident." Sophie said. "Or so I thought."

"He wasn't?"

"No, Michael was under orders to make him disappear and so he never told me. I never worked for Michael again but we kept in touch and sometimes I gave him information on certain people and their whereabouts."

"So this man, this…"

"Lord Archibald Massey" Sophie filled in for him.

"Lord…? So Lord Archibald is now after you?"

"He was being kept in a prison all these years. I suspect what he did was worse than just trading in secrets with the East Germans and the Soviets. To this day Michael has not told me anything more. The thing is he escaped...Apparently he escaped a few years ago."

"And he is coming after you?" Nate asked.

"Not only me. Everybody who was involved… Michael's whole team from those days have been killed. Only the ones working on the Lord Archibald case and Michael himself was also nearly killed. That was when he came to find me. It is just me and him left now."

"Who are the men out there?"

"I don't know. Michael still has contacts."

"Apparently so does this Lord Archibald. Ok so now what you just hide out here until they find him."

"No. Michael feels he can protect me here for now, but Archie seems quite organised and they can't find him. We can't stay here forever and Michael thinks Archie will find us here too."

"Who's they?" Nate asked.

"Well MI5 and the CIA are looking for him, probably NSA as well, but he is dead, a ghost. If he does appear then there will be some explaining to do and they don't want that either."

"So we have a man who has been in jail for what…twenty odd…?" Nate said thinking out loud. "He's been in prison for a long time and probably not the nicest one either, especially under the circumstances of how he came to be there. He has had a lot of time to think about the people who put him in jail and took his life away from him, a good life. So now he is hunting them. Then we have the government who do not want their dirty little secret to get out and will probably do anything to prevent that from happening, including sacrificing you and Michael."

"That is about right." Michael said startling both of them as he walked into the room from another door at the far end of the room.

"So what were you hoping I could do?" Nate asked knowing that Michael would not have wanted anybody else involved and the way he had made Sophie abscond proved that.

"Find him." Michael said. "Sophie said you can think like your marks, track them, like you tracked her and other criminals all those years. You were very good Nate, very good."

"I will need more details, everything about this Lord Archibald, including the missing years." Nate said looking at the man.

"I understand…" Michael said dropping a large file on the table in front of Nate. "That is everything from birth to escape."

"Well I have some reading to do then." Nate said eyeing the large file.

"That you do my dear man, but I think perhaps we should have some food and then let you get cleaned up before we start." Michael said. "I will meet you in the dining room my dear, Nate." He said and then left the room again this time through the sliding doors which he left open this time.

"How are they?" Sophie asked taking Nate's hand again.

"Now…" Nate said sighing heavily. "Probably scared as hell and pissed as hell." He said.

"Do you think we can find him?" Sophie asked softly.

"I don't know Sophie, but we are going to try." Nate said kissing her gently. "Let's go eat and then I could do with a shower."

**Ok well I hoped you enjoyed the reunion. Thank you all for the great reviews they inspire me to write as fast as I can. So will the others be able to find Nate and Sophie? Will Nate be able to track Archibald? Will Archibald find them at their hideout and will they survive if he does?**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The rest of the day Nate spent going through the file that Michael had supplied. Archibald Massey had been born into a very wealthy entitled British family. From a young age he had shown a special talent in computers and a love of all things IT. He had attended the best schools and then Oxford University. After university he spent a lot of time travelling around the world. He then started his own company specialising in cyber security. That was where he had got involved with the British Government on various projects, including coding and securing their weapons and other computer systems, there most secret of secrets were entrusted to the man to secure. If Nate had to sum him up he would be the equivalent of a British Hardison. He was reportedly killed in a car accident in Germany in 1989 at the age of thirty four. Of course that was not the truth. The truth was he was taken into custody by Michael and delivered to the British authorities. After that the file was mostly blacked out but Nate could imagine that the treatment the man received was not favourable. From what Nate could gather Archibald had not only sold secrets of weapons and weapon systems to the enemy, he had also sold names of agents, missions and much more, that had cost a lot of people their lives. Nate was well aware that the CIA, MI5 and other such organisations did not take kindly to that. The fact was that he not only compromised British security but that of Mossad and the CIA to name only two. All joint missions and information on missions being carried out by other organisations were compromised.

One thing that Michael had not told them was that Archibald had not 'just' escaped from his prison, no he had been a free man for over ten years before he had made his appearance almost four months ago with the murder of Jason Le Blanc, one of the team that worked with Michael for a long time and a man involved in the capture of Archibald. After Jason there were four other murders, all of them members of the team that had been sent to apprehend the man in Germany. The only two remaining names on that short list were Michael Carrington and Marion Du Bois aka Sophie Devereaux. Archibald had reportedly been taken in by the Soviet Union at the time of his escape and his whereabouts were not known to any of the agencies, despite serious attempts to locate him. Why he had suddenly decided to take his revenge was another question Nate could not answer. The man had had ample time and opportunity to do it earlier but had not. There must be a reason, a trigger that had caused him to start his crusade.

"So Nate, what do you think?" Michael asked as they sat around the table after dinner.

"Why did he kill the others quickly and efficiently and with you he missed?" Nate asked taking Michael by surprise with the question.

"I…I don't know, I never thought about it, except of course to thank my lucky stars."

"When did you become aware of what was going on?"

"An interrogation then…" Michael smiled lighting up a cigar and sipping his brandy before continuing. "Well, I had mostly lost touch with the group from that mission. I was made aware of the situation by a friend of mine who is still involved in the agency, it seems Lord Massey wanted them to know who was doing the killing and why. That was about two weeks ago, and then of course the attempt on my life."

"Again I ask why he missed with you." Nate said. "He found all of you easily, the one person who was not that easy to find was Sophie. She was not involved in the business or with the agency, she was your contact only." He said meaningfully.

"So he didn't want me dead, he wanted me to find Sophie for him." Michael said. He had put her in more danger by trying to keep her safe he realised. He took a deep drag on his cigar and then looked at Sophie. "I am sorry my dear, I must be losing my touch. I seem to have put you in more danger rather than protecting you."

"Yes." Nate said nodding. "He knew you had kept in touch with Sophie and if anybody would know where she was and who she was it would be you."

"He used Michael to get to me." Sophie said softly.

"Right, and now he is entering his end game." Nate said. "What I can't figure out is why now. I mean he has been free to seek his revenge for over ten years, but has not, not until now. There must be something that happened to trigger his actions."

"I agree, that puzzled me too." Michael replied. "I have no idea what that trigger could be though."

"He is an IT wizard, who knows about this place? Is it on any databases anywhere? I know you did not lodge flight plans but what about the airstrip we landed at?" Nate asked.

"No. This is a strictly off the books safe house. No records, no transactions to trace, nothing at all to link it to me, the agency or our being here. I assure you we are quite safe here, at least for now." Michael assured him.

"Who are your friends out there?"

"Local hires." Michael said. "No connection to the agency, me, or anybody else."

"I need my team." Nate said suddenly looking at Michael.

"I am sorry old boy but I don't think that is a good idea. The less people involved in this the better and I already acquiesced to your dear wife on brining you here."

"I am sorry _old boy_…" Nate said emphasising the last two words. "This is my wife as you said, and if I am going to protect her and catch this guy, I need my team." Nate said firmly. "You want me to solve this problem, then you give me what I need. This man is an IT genius and the only way to fight one is to have one. I need Hardison." Nate said holding up his hand to stop the man from protesting. "Those guys you have out there are armatures, I spotted them the minute we drove in here and I understand you hired locals so as not to draw attention to yourself, but I am afraid you get what you pay for. I need Eliot here to organise them and to make sure we are secure. Lastly, we work best as a team, and I am going to need all of them to get us through this, you included." Nate said sitting back in his chair.

"He's right Michael, they are the best." Sophie said.

"We will be drawing attention to ourselves bringing them here. We will be compromising our position more than strengthening it. Now I made an exception for you Nate, but I am not prepared to endanger you any further."

"You already endangered her the first time you approached her to play this game of yours. Now you have done it again by finding her for the Lord or yours and you know, and I know, that he will find you and her and kill you. You also know that the agency you worked for and the other agencies want this kept quiet. If it got out that they imprisoned a Lord no less and without charging him with anything, add to that the other damage he could do if he suddenly were to reappear. No, if I were a gambling man I would say that the MI5, CIA are well aware of your location and are waiting for him to make a move so that they take him out before anything more comes of this and they are not going to care about collateral damage. So let me be clear. Either Sophie and I leave here now and go back to Portland, or you allow me to get my team here." Nate finished and Sophie knew by the tone of his voice that he was going to brook no argument in the matter.

"Michael, Nate is right." She said. "Not about everything. I wanted to help and I did it willingly enough and I don't believe you meant to put me in harms way then or now. But he is right about needing the team. Archie is a wizard with computers, we need somebody who can think like him, know what kind of moves he would make, know where he would look to get the information he needs. That person is Hardison, there is nobody better. Besides, we work better as a team. I should never have left them in the first place…I should have trusted them to help." Sophie said and the last part was aimed at Nate.

"How do you propose to get them here?" Michael asked sighing heavily.

"Oh that should be quite easy." Nate smiled at him. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a tiny device which he placed in his ear.

"A bud…Nate…" Sophie smiled at him.

"Just in case." Nate said. "Hardison…Eliot…"

"Nate, what the hell… where are you man?" Hardison's voice came over the coms.

"Hardison I don't have time to explain. Just get yourselves to this location and make it quick. I'll explain everything when you get here." Nate said.

"Is Sophie there…?" Parker asked.

"Yes Parker, Sophie is here and she is fine." Nate said then took out the earbud and turned to Michael. "Make sure your men know we are expecting guests." Nate said.

"Yes we would not want your friends killed before they can help…" Michael said sarcastically.

"It's not them I am worried about." Nate replied smiling at him. "I am tired. It's been one hell of a long day and I think we are going to retire to our room until Eliot and the others get here. Shall we…" He asked Sophie holding out his arm to her. She smiled at him and wrapped her arm in his as they walked towards their bedroom.

**Thanks for the great reviews. I am glad you are all still enjoying the story.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Archibald Massey sat surrounded by computer screens. Suddenly a smile appeared on his face as he watched the image materialise.

"There you are my dear." He said softly as he watched her go to the man who climbed out of the car with Michael. "Now we can have our reunion." He whispered as he placed his hand over her face on the screen.

"You have found them?" Rudgar Milliard asked as he entered the room. He was an older man with thick salt and pepper hair. He spoke with a heavy Russian accent.

"I have old friend." Archibald confirmed. He turned towards the man and smiled.

"Who is the man with Michael?" Rudgar asked as he watched the image on the screen.

"Marion, no…Sophie's fiancé. He is of little consequence, probably just another of her marks. We now have a place and my dear Michael has organised a nice secluded place for us to meet again, so that we will have time to get to know each other again." Archibald said softly his eyes fixed on the image. Then they were gone from the screen as the three people moved into the house.

"According to this there are at least ten guards." Rudgar said moving closer and examining the images on the different screens. "They are spread around the compound."

Archibald nodded as he worked on his computer. "Local hires…" He said as information came up. "I doubt they will offer you much trouble."

"It will take a day or so to organise." Rudgar told him.

"I can wait my friend. It will be over soon, I will have my revenge." Archibald replied softly. "Then I can die in peace."

"I will go and make the arrangements. I will let Ivan know that we no longer need access to the satellites now that we have what we need. He has taken a great risk to allow us this much time. " Rudgar said turning and leaving the room.

Archibald nodded without looking up, his eyes were fixed on the image of the woman frozen on the screen. "Soon my dear you will pay for your treachery, you and Michael will pay." He whispered.

"Uncle Archie it is time for your medication."

Archibald turned towards the young man who had entered the room. He smiled and pushed himself up from the table. The man walked forward quickly and grabbed his arm to steady him as swayed slightly. Archibald allowed the man to help him up and leaned on him slightly.

"Thank you I am fine." He said and then shuffled towards the door.

"You need to rest." The young doctor said as he followed him out. "You are pushing yourself to hard."

"I will get more rest my dear young man, as soon as I have finished my work." Archibald said. "Then I will have all the rest I will ever need."

"Uncle Archie…"

"Don't worry my boy, all of us have to die sometime, but I need to put things right. They have to pay for what they did, to me, to my family…you understand. I need you to make sure that I am around long enough to do that."

"And I will, if you listen to me and get some rest. You have spent the last two days without sleeping more than a few hours, staring at those screens. Now you have found them, let my father secure the site for you and then you can finish it. But Uncle Archie you have to rest or you are not going to be in any state to finish it do you understand?"

"You know you are very much like your father…" Archie smiled at him taking his arm as he climbed on the bed.

"Thank you…" The young man smiled as he set about preparing to start the IV that would pump the medication into his patient. "Now just let the medicine work OK."

"I am all yours my boy…" Archie sighed as he felt the prick of the needle in his arm. "You know Samuel this man and this woman put me in my own special kind of hell for over ten years. What they did to me during those years…well you know better than most the results of those particular tactics. They were responsible for that and they must pay."

"I understand Uncle…that is why my father and I are here."

"I know my dear boy…" Archie smiled patting the young man's hand. "And I thank you.'

"Just take the next few days to rest Uncle, or you won't be able to do what you need to do." Samuel Milliard said as he monitored the IV. When he turned back to Archibald the man had closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

"How is he?" Rudgar asked as he walked into the room.

"Not good father, he does not have much longer."

"Then we will have to speed up our time table. We owe him Samuel, we owe him and we will make sure that he can get his revenge before he dies."

"Yes father." Samuel said looking from his father to his patient.

"I am going out. Tell him when he wakes that we will be ready to go tomorrow." Rudgar told his son before turning and leaving.

**I know a bit of a short chapter sorry about that. Thanks again for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It took Eliot and the others two and a half hours to get to Las Vegas airport. From there it was a good three hour drive to the location Hardison had pin pointed. They would only get there in the early morning. The location was in the middle of the desert far out of town, isolated.

By six in the morning they were approaching the area, they had passed the little airstrip that Nate and Michael had landed at and were nearing the gate to the compound when Eliot suddenly stopped the car.

"Eliot…?" Parker asked concern in her voice.

"Something is wrong." Eliot said. "Keep your eyes open and get ready for anything."

Eliot then pulled forward slowly approaching the gate to the compound. They found it destroyed with two bodies lying on the road. Eliot stopped the car and got out with Parker. Together they moved the bodies out of the road and got back into the car.

"This isn't good is it?" Hardison asked. Neither of the two answered him as Eliot slammed his foot down on the accelerator and the car shot forward in a cloud of dust.

"When I say jump, jump…" Eliot told them. "Jump and roll and keep under cover."

Parker nodded and Hardison looked like he was about to throw up. Eliot sped along and when the house came into sight he slammed on the brakes causing a huge dust cloud. "Jump…" He shouted and once he was sure they were out the car he hit the accelerator again throwing the car straight for the entrance of the house.

Three men emerged from the front door all of them holding sub machine guns which they immediately put to use peppering the car. Eliot leaned over shielding himself with the door to the car. He slammed on brakes again causing another small dust storm which he used as cover as he came out of the car at lightning speed. He was on the first of the three men before they saw him and the other two dropped soon after the sound of gunfire ringing loudly in the still of the desert morning.

Eliot went through the door taking out a fourth man as he did. He felt the burn of a bullet as it grazed his side and then the man holding the gun dropped to the ground. A blonde woman stood behind him holding up a taser. Eliot moved forward entering the large living room. Another man turned as he entered and fired at him and he felt the burn of another bullet as it pierced his leg slowing him slightly as he moved forward to take the man out. Another shot sounded and then silence.

"Where are they?" Parker asked afraid of the answer.

As Hardison entered the room they heard four shots outside and all of them set off towards the door. As they reached it they saw a large black vehicle pull away at speed down the dirt driveway. Eliot moved towards the car and then stopped. The shots that had been fired had taken out all four of the wheels of the car. He cursed and turned back to the house.

"Check the top he said to Hardison." He was sure there was no more danger but he wanted to know where Nate and Sophie were. "Parker left…" He said as he veered off right.

Hardison crept up the stairs he was not as sure as Eliot that there was no more danger. He moved from room to room but found nothing. Eliot moved through the right side of the house inspecting all of the rooms but also found nothing. Likewise Parker came up empty.

"Back door…" Parker said pushing past them heading for the door which had been left open.

All three of them came to a brief stop as they saw the body and then sprinted forward toward the tall black haired man who lay facing away from them blood soaking his clothes.

Parker was first there and fell to her knees turning the body over and then almost crying out with relief. Eliot dropped to his knees opposite her and looked down at the man. He reached out and felt for a pulse and felt a slight one. He could tell though that is was too late for the man, he would be dead within minutes.

"Who are you?" He asked the man who now had his eyes open.

"You…are…Nate's….team…" He stuttered out.

"Yes…" Hardison said as he knelt at the man's head.

"You have to…save…them…Marion…" He said and then a cough raked his body and blood seeping from his mouth.

"Who has them?" Eliot asked leaning into the man.

"Archibald…Lord Arch…Mas…Tell her I'm sor…sorr…y" He said as he breathed his last. His body went limp and his eyes clouded over in death.

Eliot looked down at him and then closed his eyes before standing up and sweeping his eyes over the area. He moved towards the building to the side of the house. Parker and Hardison followed him without speaking. He pulled open the door and then smiled to himself as he eyed the jeep that was parked there.

"Parker…" He said and the Thief immediately moved forward and climbed into the front. She had the car started in less than thirty seconds and Hardison and Eliot climbed in.

"Hardison…"

"Yeah I know Archibald…M A S something…" Hardison said. "It's not much to work on though…"

"You've worked with less." Parker shouted at him over the din of the engine.

"That I have." He smiled at her despite the knot in his stomach and the lump in his throat.

"Start in Russia." Eliot told him.

"Russia…." Hardison asked raising his eyebrows. "I don't know any Lord's that come out of Russia and he said Lord didn't he? Lord Archibald."

"Maybe but those were Russians we were fighting, ex Stazi…" Parker peered over her shoulder at him and he shrugged.

"Don't tell me…distinctive somethingortheother…" She said.

"Ok I'll start in Russia and work back to British Royalty…" Hardison said rolling his eyes at them.

By the time they had got back to Las Vegas Hardison already had some of the story. A Lord Archibald Massey had been killed in a car accident in East Berlin.

"So he was telling us a ghost took them?" Eliot said as they walked into the penthouse suite Hardison had secured for them.

"Unless he wasn't killed." Parker said.

"Who was that guy out there?" Eliot asked.

"I'm running a facial recognition through every database I have access to…"

"Which is all of them right?" Parker asked wrapping her arms around him.

"Age of the Geek baby…" Hardison smiled at her.

"What do they want with Nate and Sophie…"

"Marion, he called her Marion." Eliot reminded them. "Hardison was there a Marion linked with this Lord?"

"Yes, shortly before his death he was seen at a banquet with a young woman named Marion Du Bois…I have a photo…" Hardison said pulling up the old newspaper photo on the screen.

"That's Sophie…" Parker said staring at the photo.

"Ok…I got him…" Hardison said staring at his screen and whistling softly. "Mr Michael Carrington, ex MI5, retired ten years ago."

"MI5?" Eliot said.

"What the hell was Sophie involved in back then?" Hardison asked looking up at Eliot.

"I don't know." Eliot said softly. "Hardison we need everything there is about this Archibald guy, he obviously did not die in a car crash. If MI5 are involved then I would assume he was taken…prisoner. You are going to have to hack the British government files, their most secret. Also those were definitely Russians back there so there must be a link with Russia, if Archibald was a spy or something back then, then that is the link."

"So hack the Soviet systems too?" Hardison said swallowing hard. He knew he could do it, but if they were caught, well that was something different.

"You've hacked the White House for crying out loud Hardison." Parker said reading his body language and his tone of voice and hearing the fear come through.

"Yeah girl, that was easy…we are dealing with spooks here. People who would kill you as soon as look at you. CIA…KGB…MI5 these are not good people. This isn't James Bond here girl, this is real life."

"And if you don't do it Sophie and Nate are dead." Eliot reminded him. This was not just a job, it was the ultimate job, saving their family.

"I didn't say I wouldn't or couldn't do it…" Hardison said. "I just meant this ain't just hacking into some bank records, or even White House e-mail accounts. It's going to take a while and I am going to have to be careful not to be traced, or we will be dead before Sophie and Nate. We are moving into the shadows man and there, nothing is as it seems."

"Where are you going?" Parker asked as Eliot picked up his jacket and the car keys.

"I need to go see a man." Eliot said simply. "I'll be back tomorrow." Then he left.

"What the hell…?" Hardison said shaking his head and then got back to work.

"We will find them right Alec?" Parker asked softly.

"Yeah girl…do you doubt us?" He asked but he too was afraid that this time they would not be able to pull of the miracle needed.

"Never…" Parker said leaning in and kissing him.

**What happened at the house? Where have they taken Nate and Sophie and are they still alive? Will Hardison be able to connect the dots? Where is Eliot going and who is he going to talk to? Thank you all for the great reviews they are really and truly appreciated.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Father…" Samuel Milliard said as he walked into his fathers' study.

Rudgar did not immediately look up, he was busy with the plans for taking the compound Nate and Sophie currently found themselves in.

"Father…"

"Oh yes Samuel, what is it?" He asked looking up as his son called to him again.

"I am afraid Uncle Archie has taken a turn for the worse. I do not think he will last much longer at all father."

"I can take the compound in a few hours' time, we will be ready then." Rudgar said.

"Then you must do it. You must do it without him and bring them here."

"Very well son. You just keep him alive long enough to make them pay for doing what they did to him."

"I will do my best father." Samuel promised and then retreated back to the makeshift clinic he had set up to treat his ailing Uncle.

Rudgar watched his son leave his face darkening. Then he pulled out his mobile and made some quick calls, getting everything in order to go and capture Sophie and Michael and bring them back.

It was just before six am when they burst into the house taking the occupants by surprise. Nate reacted quickly pulling Sophie into a corner. Michael pulled out his gun and downed the first man through the door before also retreating to join Sophie and Nate.

"I thought your guys were watching this place…" Nate said ducking as another volley of shots rang out and pushing Sophie further behind him.

"Yes well…" Michael said as he raised his gun and fired blindly around the corner. "You get her out of here, there is a jeep in the barn outside. Get it and get out of here."

"What about you." Sophie asked as they all ducked another round of bullets.

"Don't worry my dear, I may be old but I know how to handle myself. Now go…" He said standing up and firing his gun as fast as he could pull the trigger.

Nate did not second guess the man, he pulled Sophie with him and moved on his haunches towards the back exit. Staying to the side of the door he reached out and turned the handle. The door swung open. He waited a heartbeat and then moved out then turned and signalled Sophie to follow him. they made it halfway across the way before they were confronted by two heavily armed men. Nate reached out and pushed Sophie behind him.

"Ok…Ok…" Nate said holding up his hands. "Let's talk about this shall we…"

"Run Nate…" Michael cried out as he fired at the two men.

They both ducked and Nate pulled Sophie and ran full speed towards the barn. Michael kept firing and then the two fired back dropping him instantly.

"Michael…" Sophie screamed as she turned to see him fall. The two men then turned their attention back to Nate and Sophie and then another man appeared stepping out of the back door.

"I would just stay as still as possible Marion…" Rudgar said as the two came to a full stop now surrounded by armed men who looked like they would like nothing more than blowing them away.

"Now we are going to take a little trip, there is somebody who has waited a long time to see you." Rudgar said as he walked towards Michael's body. He bent down and turned the body over. "Well that is a pity…" He said as he looked down into the lifeless open eyes of Michael. "Well you will have to do."

"What about him?" One of the men asked pointing at Nate.

"Mmm yes…" Rudgar said looking Nate over. "Bring him with…Lord Massey can decide what to do with him."

The three men moved forward and herded Sophie and Nate to the waiting car. Once they were in along with Rudger they convoy set off. They drove straight to the airstrip where they transferred to a plane that was ready for take-off and started taxying as soon as they were aboard.

"I didn't know…" Sophie said looking at Rudgar. "I didn't know what they were going to do."

"I have no interest in what you knew or what you did not know Ms Du Bois. My only interest is getting you to an old friend of mine who needs to make peace before he leaves this world." Rudgar said.

"By killing her?" Nate asked.

"She did worse to him, she deserves whatever he gives her. Now please be quiet or I will be forced to ensure your silence for the rest of the trip." Rudgar told them.

Sophie clung to Nate's arm a little tighter as they settled back in their seats. They had not been restrained but Nate knew it was futile to try anything in the plane, it would only lead to their early deaths. He looked out the window trying to determine in what direction they were headed. He had a plan but he could not put it in motion just yet, so he settled back wrapping his arm around Sophie comfortingly.

They were in the air for three hours before they landed at a private airstrip. They were taken to a car and then driven to a house. There they were taken to a room with no furniture and no windows. They were pushed inside and the door was closed and locked.

"What are we going to do Nate?" Sophie asked as they were left alone in the dark.

"Don't worry Sophie…" Nate started to say before he was interrupted by the door opening. Rudger stood at the entrance along with two other men.

"Lord Massey would like to see you…" He said looking at Sophie. Nate stepped forward and placed himself in front of her. "Oh how sweet." Rudgar smiled at him. "I am afraid he does not want to see you." He said pulling out a gun. "In fact he has no use for you at all." He said then pulled the trigger sending Nate backward into Sophie who caught him and dropped to the floor with him.

"Come…" Rudger said.

"Nate…Nate…" Sophie cried as she held him running her hand over his face. A small bloom of red appeared on his chest getting bigger as she watched.

"Another victim of your charms Ms Du Bois…" Rudger said as he roughly pulled her to her feet. "Get rid of him." He told the two men as he pulled Sophie along. She struggled with him her head turned to look at Nate's inert body lying on the floor of the room, until she was pulled around the corner and out of site.

Nate felt the bullet slam into him and grunted as he fell backwards. He felt Sophie's arms wrap around him as she sank to the floor and heard her urgent cries. All he could feel was pain but he knew he had to do something. He moved his arm slightly and dipped into his pocket. He felt Sophie's hand run over his face but kept his eyes tightly shut as he fought the nausea, pain and the strong desire to disappear into the darkness that beckoned him. he felt Sophie being pulled away from him and then his head dropped hitting the floor as she was pulled up by Rudger. He heard the man tell the other two to get rid of him and made his move hoping that they were too busy with Sophie to see him. Then he felt two rough sets of hand pull him upright and start dragging him out of the room.

"Hardison…" He moaned out.

"He isn't dead." One of the men said as they heard his moan. "Who is he calling for..? I thought it would be her."

The other man shrugged at his friend. "You never know with these Americans." He said. "Come on…we have to put our friend into his watery grave."

"Eliot…" Nate moaned out again.

"Nate…Nate is that you?" Hardison's voice came over the com Nate had put into his ear.

"Sophie…save Sophie…" Nate said.

"You ain't saving anybody…" The first man said as they threw Nate into the back of the waiting truck. "You are going to go for a little swim."

"Eliot…you have to get to Sophie…" Nate said as they left him alone and made their way to the cab of the truck.

"Nate we have a fix on you…" Hardison said.

"No…no Sophie…" Nate said biting back a cry of pain as the truck started moving off. "I…am done…save Sophie…" He said as he pulled the earbud out and threw it out of the truck. He did not want them chasing him…he needed them to come after Sophie. Then he put his head back and closed his eyes giving into the darkness that took him.

**What will the crew do? Will they be able to get to Sophie before she is hurt or killed? What about Nate? Thanks again for the reviews they really do inspire me to keep writing.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sophie fought to get back to Nate but soon realised she was not going to escape the two men who escorted her away. Sophie felt the first prick of tears as she realised too that she had just witnessed Nate get killed. She slumped into the arms of the men who were holding her on either side and just moved along with them. She was brought to a stop in front of a man she barely recognised. He was far from the man she had known all those years ago and it was not only age that had changed him.

"Look Rudgar, she is crying for the man, now that would be a first. Tell me my dear, did you love him, like you said you loved me?" He asked.

Sophie did not reply, he just stared at him. Her eyes were swollen and her mascara had started to run from the tears she had already shed.

"I think she actually cared for him Archie." Rudgar said.

"In the way only a Grifter can." Archibald agreed. "She had me convinced she loved me, then she sent me to my fate, just as she has now dispatched her latest target to his death."

"Her fiancé no less." Rudgar said.

"Yes…yes…well I am sure if I let her go she would find another one. But I am not going to let her go am I?" He asked his friend.

Still Sophie made no move, no comment. She did not care what they did to her now. Nate was dead, he was dead because she had brought him into this. If she had not asked him for help, if she had just gone with Michael and let Nate alone, he may have been drunk but he would have been alive. She may as well have pulled the trigger herself. It didn't matter what happened to her now, Nate was gone and it was her fault.

"Nothing to say my dear?" Archibald asked her. "Do you know what they did to me…do you? Do you even care?" He spat at her. "Well you will pay for what you did. You will pay for your treachery." He said and then a coughing fit caused him to fold back into the chair. Rudgar was immediately by his side and so was the young man who had stood behind him during the meeting.

"We have time Archie." Rudgar said as the fit passed. "Let us let her think about it for a while, anticipation can cause such sweet anxiety."

"Yes…yes…" Archie nodded leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.

Rudgar nodded and motioned to the two men who had brought her in to take her back to her cell. Sophie went without fighting and Rudgar frowned slightly. Archibald was wrong, even if she was a Grifter, it was clear she truly cared for the man he had just killed. He turned back to Archibald and helped his son get him back into his room and into bed. It didn't really matter. It was only a matter of time and then both she and Archibald would be dead and this whole thing would be over.

Sophie was taken back to her room and shoved inside the door locked behind her. This time it was lit. She stood frozen to the spot as she stared down at the floor which had a small pool of blood on it where Nate had laid. Where he had died…She fell back against the door and slid to the floor a flood of tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed inconsolably.

Nate came back to consciousness as two rough hands pulled his feet dragging him to the edge of the back of the truck he had been placed in. He was lifted out of the truck and carried a short distance.

"They won't find him here soon, if ever." The man said before lifting him off his shoulder and throwing him down. Nate braced himself for the contact with the ground but it did not come, instead he felt wet and cold flood over him.

"Let's go…" The man said to his friend after watching for a few moments as Nate drifted out into the lake.

"Maybe we should have weighted him down." His friend said. Nate was not sinking, he was simply floating away.

"Maybe but I ain't going in there to get him back to weigh him down." The first man said shaking his head. "That water is damn cold besides even if they find him, they can't connect him to us."

"Yeah..ok…let's get the hell out of here then." He said and they walked back to the truck and then sped off back towards where they had come from.

Nate lay drifting in the water. He was amazed he was still alive. He floated on his back water lapping over him gently, his arms stretched out beside him keeping him face up. He had no sense of time or space, his mind drifting. He heard Sophie's voice, her laugh. He hoped the other's had gotten to her, had saved her. He closed his eyes. He was tired and ready to give up, but he could not, he kept hearing Sophie's voice telling him to fight, to stay alive, telling him she needed him. He drifted until he was hung up on something, he did not know what, but whatever it was it was helping him stay right side up and stopped him from drifting further out into the dam. He could hear the water lapping against something and he could hear the rustle of reeds. He knew he had lost a lot of blood from the gun shot and he was sure it would not be long before he drifted off and never woke again. He was ready he thought. Before he drifted back into unconsciousness his last thought was of Sophie. Eliot and the others had to safe her, they had to.

**Will Nate survive? Will the others be able to find him? What about Sophie, will they get to her before Archie is ready to exact his revenge? As ever I think you all for your great reviews.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Eliot returned after an hour with no more news than what Hardison had to offer. There was no tracing them. Archibald Massey was a ghost, nobody knew where he was, most thought he was dead.

"Eliot we need to dress those wounds." Parker as she watched Eliot limp through the door. His shirt was bloody and so were his jeans.

"They are only flesh wounds…no problem." Eliot told her. He was tired and frustrated and angry. Nate and Sophie were gone and they had no way of knowing where. The only thing they did know was that they were in danger and probably going to be killed.

"Take the shirt off." Parker instructed as she brought the first aid kit and knelt beside him. Eliot did as he was instructed and Parker cleaned and dressed the wound. "Now the pants…" Parker instructed.

Eliot rolled his eyes but obeyed her. It was not the first time parker had dressed his wounds and it probably would not be the last. She quickly cleaned the wound and told him that he would need stitches for it. When she was done Eliot limped to the bathroom to shower and change.

They gathered around the work desk and went over everything again hoping that they would find something, anything that could give them an indication of at least to where they could start looking.

Suddenly their earbuds sprang to life.

"Nate, it's Nate…" Parker said with wonder.

They listed to Nate's words and Eliot's face darkened. Then there was only silence on the other side and no answer from Nate when they called him.

"What the hell did he mean by he's 'done'?" Hardison asked his voice spiking with fear.

"Let's just get going. You know where we going?" Eliot asked, he did not want to think about what Nate meant.

"Yeah…" Hardison said.

"Let's go…" Parker said grabbing the keys.

"Airport Parker…" Hardison said grabbing his stuff and heading out after the other two. He spent the time on the short trip organising them a plane and a pilot.

"They are still in the same location but not together." Hardison said studying his screen.

"I don't understand why you couldn't track them with that thing in the first place." Eliot growled at Hardison.

"Man I told you it was a Nate special…no GPS unless Nate wanted it on." Hardison replied a pained expression on his face. "You think I wouldn't have if I could have…you think…"

"Oh stop it both of you." Parker said. "Eliot you know Hardison would move heaven and earth to get to Nate and Sophie, and Hardison you know Eliot is feeling helpless so leave each other alone." She said. She remained calm, switching off her emotions. She had to or she would not be able to cope with the situation. She knew what Nate had meant and she was not expecting to see him alive again, but they had to get to Sophie and if they were going to do that she could not think about Nate right then.

"Ok…so we land here." Eliot said pulling out a map of the area they were headed to. "They are here, so it is a short drive from the airstrip."

"What about a vehicle?" Parker asked.

"Sorted girl…" Hardison assured her.

"Now we don't know what is waiting for us. How many men we may have to face, one thing we do know is they will be heavily armed."

"But they won't be expecting us right?" Hardison asked looking at Eliot.

"I doubt it, but we take no chances." Eliot said. "Now Hardison found the only building in the vicinity and it is this house here."

"Right and here is the layout." Hardison said brining the plans to the mentioned house up on his screen.

"Ok, so they will probably be keeping Sophie here." Eliot said pointing to the basement of the house. "You and Parker are going straight for her. No matter what happens you get her out."

"What will you be doing?" Hardison asked already knowing the answer.

"Covering you." Eliot said simply.

"What about Nate?" Hardison asked softly.

"I'll get Nate." Eliot said. Nate's signal had not moved. He remained stationary a short distance from the house. Eliot had no doubt that he was going to find Nate dead, but it was better he did than either of them. They had to concentrate on Sophie, and he hoped to God she was still alive.

Both Parker and Hardison looked at him and then nodded. Then Eliot set about giving them the equipment they would need. He did not like guns but he knew this time he would need them. He handed one to Parker but not to Hardison. The Hacker raised his eyebrow at the Hitter.

"Here you can have this." Parker said handing him her taser and smiling at him.

"Fine…send me to a gun fight with a taser…whatever man…" Hardison complained.

"I like tasers…" Parker said pouting at him.

"Remember, no matter what you hear or see, you get Sophie out of there." Eliot told them bringing the bantering to an end.

"Yeah man." Hardison said becoming serious again.

The three of them fell silent then as the plane carried them towards their destination. Eliot spent the time making sure his kit was ready. Hardison sat studying the plans of the house along with Parker both of them memorising the fastest and easiest way to get to where they thought Sophie was being held. They had no idea how much resistance they would meet. They only knew they were going to get Sophie out or die trying.

A little more than two hours later the pilot informed them they were landing. Once the plane was on the ground they wasted no time getting to the car Hardison had arranged to be waiting for them. They drove in silence until they were only a mile away from their ultimate destination. That was where Eliot dropped Hardison and Parker.

"See you later…" Hardison said giving him their handshake.

Parker sprang forward and wrapped her arms around Eliot's neck. Eliot returned the hug and then turned and climbed back into the car.

"Remember, Sophie is your only concern." He reminded them. Both of them nodded and then watched him drive off.

"Let's go…" Parker said leading Hardison off towards the house at a brisk pace.

As they approached the house they heard a large explosion. That was their cue; they set off at a run and reached the back door to the house. As the first gun shots rang out, they entered the house and headed directly for the basement and Sophie.

**Glad you are all still enjoying the story. Thank you all so much for the reviews I really appreciate them all.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Eliot met little to no resistance as he approached the house. No guards to speak of, he took out the man guarding the gate with ease. He needed to get the attention on him so he pulled the grenade he had brought with and chucked it from the car. It rolled under the jeep that was parked at the front of the house. It exploded sending the car into the air and causing a secondary explosion as the jeeps petrol tank blew. At the commotion three armed men ran from the house guns at the ready. Eliot skidded the car to a halt diving from it just as the three men opened fire peppering the vehicle with bullets.

Parker and Hardison heard the explosion and entered the house. Eliot would keep the guards busy in the front leaving them free to head to the basement where they were sure Sophie was being held. They moved quickly through the house heading directly for their target.

"She's not here…" Hardison said as they two of them burst into the basement to find it deserted.

"What do you mean she's not there…?" Eliot hissed out.

"I mean she is not here." Hardison repeated.

"Well she is somewhere in this house find her…" Eliot said

"Let's go…" Parker said as she headed up the stairs and out into the corridor.

The two of them moved from room to room carefully, but found them all deserted. The third door they burst through they found themselves in a room that was decked out with every piece of equipment any Hacker could ever hope for.

"Now this is sweet…" Hardison said running his eyes over the equipment. "I mean look at this. Satellite feed…This must be how they found Nate and Sophie in Nevada…" Hardison hit a few buttons and the screens in the room sprung to life. "He has the same set up as I do, access to every database…I mean this is…well this is just…"

"Hardison…" Parker said also run her eyes around the room. "Sophie…?" She said before heading for the door.

"Yeah…yeah…ok…" Hardison said reluctantly following the Thief out of the room.

The next two rooms were empty and as they approached the third room they were joined by Eliot, who after taking out the three men who had exited the house on his arrival found no further resistance much to his surprise. Massey was obviously not expecting any trouble and only had minimum security.

"This is the last one, it's locked." Parker said as they flattened themselves against the wall next to the door.

"Ok…Hardison you hold back." Eliot said then nodded to Parker. He softly counted to three then kicked the door in and he and Parker went through.

"Stop right there." A tall man with a heavy Russian accent said.

Eliot swept his eyes around the room. It was empty except for the bed which held a man who appeared to be unconscious and the big man holding Sophie to the right side of the bed.

"Sophie…are you alright?" Eliot asked running his eyes over the Grifter but seeing no outward sign of injury.

"Drop your weapon…" Another voice said from behind them. "Raise your hands." The voice instructed. Eliot nodded to Parker who shrugged and dropped the gun she was holding and raised her hands above her head. Eliot followed suite.

They stood there for a few seconds waiting for the next move when Parker heard a familiar sound and Eliot moved like lightning towards the man holding Sophie. Sophie pulled away from the man who was momentarily stunned at the sight of the young man who had gotten the drop on the two of them fall to the floor, Hardison standing smiling at him with a taser in his hand. Eliot's hand flew out and connected with the man's head snapping it backwards. The big man seemed to hang in the air for a few minutes before crumpling to the ground. Eliot immediately turned to Sophie.

"Sophie…talk to me, are you alright?" He asked urgently.

"Yes…but…but they…they killed Nate." Sophie said stammered out.

"Archibald Massey I presume?" Hardison said stepping over the unconscious form of the doctor and approaching the bed.

"Yes." Sophie replied.

"Parker, Hardison make sure these two can't cause us any trouble." Eliot said then helped Sophie to a chair and sat her down.

"It's going to be ok Sophie." He said softly knowing it was a lie. She had seen them kill Nate and he could see by the look in her eyes that nothing was going to be fine again.

Eliot turned from her and moved to the door.

"Take care of her." He said softly. "I'll be back shortly."

"Where you going…?" Hardison asked.

"To get Nate..." Eliot said taking out the tracking device Hardison had given him. Hardison nodded silently, his eyes going to Sophie.

Parker and Hardison dragged the two unconscious men into the adjoining room then locked the door; they would be secure there until they decided what they were going to do with them.

Eliot turned on the tracking device and quickly made his way out of the house heading towards where he thought he would find Nate's body. Reaching the area the device told him the earbud was he found a truck parked. The cab of the truck was empty and when Eliot peered into the back his heart dropped. There was a large amount of dried blood and evidence that a body had been transported in it. Eliot saw the tell-tale marks where the body had been dragged to the edge of the bed of the truck and then obviously lifted out. Following the signal again he found the disposed of earbud and realised what Nate had done. He had thrown the earbud out so that they could track it to this place. To Sophie…They had obviously taken him away to dispose of his body elsewhere, judging by the amount of blood on the back of the truck it was obviously the last thing he had done. He doubted anybody could survive that kind of blood loss for any length of time, and it had taken them more than a few hours to get here after Nate's contact with them. Too long he told himself shaking his head, there could now be no doubt that Nate was dead. He cursed softly to himself and slammed his fist into the side of the truck in frustration.

"Damn you for a self-sacrificing damnable fool Nathan Ford." He hissed out. Then he turned to make his way back into the house. One of the guys in the house must know where they disposed of Nate's body and one of them was going to tell him.

**Thank you for all the reviews, I really appreciate them, each and every one. So what are they going to do with Rudgar and his son? What about Massey and will they be able to locate Nate and is he still alive?**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**First let me say that I am sorry for the long delay, but that is what happens when life interferes with your plans. I hope that the worst is now over and I can get back to my regular updates. Thanks for bearing with me and I hope you all enjoy the rest of the story.**

Eliot walked back into the house to find three anxious people waiting for him. Sophie's big brown eyes that were swimming in tears stared at him as he stopped in the doorway of the room they were in.

"Where is he?" Sophie asked her eyes wide as Eliot stepped in. She noted he was alone he did not have Nate with him.

"I don't know. But I am going to find out." Eliot said softly to the woman.

"What do you mean you 'don't know' man?" Hardison asked.

"I mean somebody drove his…" Eliot paused not wanting to verbalise his thoughts. "Him away from here on the back of a truck and I am going to find out who that somebody is and where they took him." Eliot told the Hacker as he handed him the earbud he had found.

"What the hell?" Hardison asked looking at the device.

"He dumped it." Eliot told him.

"Why?" Parker asked looking from Hardison to Eliot.

"So that you would come after me and not him…" Sophie said understanding what Nate had done. "So that you would not…not…waste time…"

"Sophie, he did what he felt he needed to do." Eliot told her. "Now we have to do what we need to do to get him back."

"He's dead Eliot…" Sophie almost spat at him. "He's dead and it's my fault." She said crumpling back into her chair.

"He may be dead Sophie…" Eliot said softly. "But he deserves a decent burial. We are going to take him home."

Sophie did not respond, she buried her head in her hands and sobbed. Parker moved over to her and placed her hands on her shoulders not really knowing what to do. She was just as overcome with emotion as the older woman and although she had come a long way since becoming part of this team, this family, she still did not know how to cope with this kind of turmoil. She had lost people in her past, her brother amongst others, but this felt different. This made her feel as if she had lost part of herself and she was having difficulty dealing with it. She put her emotions to the side, boxed them up and concentrated on Sophie, it was the only way she was not going to fall apart as well.

Eliot watched the two women for a moment then turned towards Hardison whom he could also see was just barely hanging on. He sighed heavily. His anger and his focus on retrieving Nate in whatever condition he was in was keeping him from dwelling on the situation, Hardison needed something to focus on two. Parker and Sophie would take care of each other.

"Hardison, we need a story, a cover. We need to make sure these guys never come after Sophie again and we need to make sure they pay for Nate. We need to do it Nate's way…understand?" Eliot told the Hacker. "Hardison…"

"Yeah…yeah…" Hardison said pulling his eyes away from the two women. "I got it man…"

"Good." Eliot said. "I'm going to get Nate. Make sure they are secure until I get back."

Hardison nodded and watched the Hitter walk away. Eliot went straight to the room where the remainder of the guards were being held. Questioning Rudgar would be pointless, and besides, if Eliot saw the man now he was not sure he would be able to stop himself from killing him. Unlocking the door he stepped into the room. He paused for a moment and ran his eyes over the group.

"I want to know where you took the man who Rudgar shot and I want to know now." He said to the group. "I am not going to ask again." The men in the room just stared Eliot. The look in the Hitter's eye turned their blood cold and one of them quickly spoke up.

"James and Sam took him away." The young man in the corner of the room said pointing to another man who sat in the middle of the room.

"Where did you take him?" Parker asked as Eliot still hung back watching the man closely.

"He was dead man…" The man replied but he was not looking at her he was staring at Eliot and in his eyes he saw his own death. "I didn't kill him I swear…It was Rudgar…I swear I had nothing to do with it…" He said quickly.

"Where did you take his…body?" Eliot asked his voice low and full of menace.

"We dumped it in the lake a few miles from here…I…I can take you there."

"Move…" Eliot growled at the man.

James Howell moved quickly rising up and walking forward. He veered slightly away from Eliot as he moved towards the door. Eliot took James' arm and pulled him out the door with him and to the truck they had used to transport Nate.

"No games…just take me to Nate." Eliot told the man as he climbed into the truck with him. "Drive."

James drove straight to the area they had dumped Nate's body. It was on the near side of the lake, one which was lined with reeds.

"Where…?" Eliot asked as they climbed out. The cars lights shone over the water. Eliot strained his eyes but could see nothing but the reflection of the lights and the reeds which swayed slightly in the breeze.

"Over here man…"

"Did you weight him down?" Eliot asked moving closer to the waters' edge.

"No man…we just put him in the water." James said backing away from Eliot towards the truck.

The Hitter was absorbed in staring out into the lake trying to spot his friends body. This was his chance to make a run for it James thought to himself, maybe his only chance of getting away. Dusk was settling in and he would be able to get away in the dark, they would never be able to follow him. The keys were still in the truck…he just needed to get in and drive away. Eliot seemed to pay no attention to the man as he stared out. He was almost at the truck when Eliot spun around and then moved with lightning speed. James did not even know what had happened before Eliot fist connected with his face dropping him into the mud.

"You have to answer for what you did." Eliot told the unconscious man. He moved towards the lake again. "Nate…" Eliot called out. He knew in his heart that Nate was dead but still he called out for the man.

Eliot waded into the water scanning edge of the lake and the reeds which grew plentifully. Then he saw it. A foot…he quickly moved to towards the protruding foot at the edge of the reeds. "Nate…" He called out desperately as he fought his way through the water. Grabbing onto the foot he pulled on it. It moved easily enough out of the reeds at his tug and Eliot shone his light down onto the face of Nate.

"Nate…" Eliot said again as he put his hands beneath the body and lifted it out of the water. It was a dead weight made heavier by the weight of the water logged clothes. Nate's head lolled back as his limp body settled into Eliot's arms. Eliot moved to the edge of the lake and then laid Nate's body down gently on the shore. He reached out to feel for a pulse although he knew it was pointless.

"Oh God…" Eliot said looking down at the body before him with amazement. "You're still alive." He said in awe. Then he lifted Nate up again and laid him on the back of the truck. His body was cold, his lips blue. He loaded James into the passenger seat and then climbed in gunning the motor. "Hold on Nate…if you could hold on to now…you can hold on a little longer…just hold." He said as he sped back to the house.

**Thank you all for the great reviews. Again sorry it took so long for the update, as you know I don't like to leave my readers hanging and I will try not to do that again. So Nate is alive, but how much longer can he hold on? How is Hardison going to make sure that Rudgar and his son gets what is coming to them, and what about Archibald, have we heard the last of him? Thanks again for reading and reviewing, all reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Nate came back to consciousness slowly. With great effort he opened his eyes. He knew he should be in pain, but he was just numb. He could not feel his body at all and he attributed that to the ice cold water he had been dumped in. That was also why he was still alive he thought ruefully. His mind drifted to his team and his family. To Sophie, which is where he went every time he resurfaced from the darkness that pulled at him. He was sure that Eliot and the others would have gotten to her the only question was, were they in time to spare her any harm, any hurt? His heart clenched as he thought that she could have been hurt or worse.

Nate had lost all concept of time and space. He was sure that he could not have been in the water for longer than a few hours, and he knew that the reeds he had drifted into were the only things keeping him from drowning or drifting out into the lake. He also knew that he had lost a lot of blood but the coldness of the water had helped with that as well. He did not think for a minute that he would be rescued. He knew this was the end for him and it was only a matter of time. As he drifted in and out of consciousness he relived part of his life, his time with his family, his time with his ex-wife and child. Time seemed to stand still for him as he waited for death to finally claim him.

He was fading out of consciousness again when he heard Eliot's voice. At first he thought it was a dream, but then it grew closer and he was sure it was the Hitter and he was close. Nate wanted to call out to him, to move, to indicate to him where he was but he was immobile and he found his voice was lost. He fought the darkness that wanted to take him again but to no avail and his eyes slid closed. He was not aware of the hand that grabbed his foot and slid his body from the reeds. He was not aware of the strong arms that lifted him out of the water and carried him to shore laying him gently down on the sandy bank. He was not aware of being placed in the back of the truck or the bumpy dusty drive back to the house.

Parker heard the approaching vehicle before either of the two people with her. She was immediately on her feet and moved to the window looking out into the now dark exterior.

"He's back." She said as she moved to Sophie's side. She wanted to go out and meet Eliot but decided staying close to the Grifter was what she needed to do. Hardison nodded and walked to the door to meet the Hitter.

He opened the door to see Eliot unloading a body from the back of the truck. He instinctively knew it was Nate's body and he took a deep breath steeling himself. He watched as Eliot quickly but gently lifted the limp form and then hurried toward him.

"Hardison, take him back to the room." Eliot said throwing his head in the direction of the truck but not stopping as he passed him. Hardison did not argue but a slim glimmer of hope shone in his eye. If Nate was dead, if that was his body Eliot was carrying then he would not be in such a hurry would he?

"Sophie…" Eliot said as he entered the house. "We need a bed now. Parker go get the doctor…go Parker NOW."

Parker did not ask questions she sprang forward towards the room they had locked Rudgar and his son in. Sophie too was out of her seat and at Eliot's side.

"He's alive…" She asked incredulously.

"A bed Sophie…" He said and Sophie quickly moved in front of Eliot leading him into the side room throwing the door open and allowing Eliot to enter.

"He's alive…but he's hurt bad. He needs a doctor." Eliot said laying Nate down on the bed gently.

"Nate…" Sophie said moving to the unconscious man's side and taking his hand. It was ice cold to the touch and so was his face, his lips were blue and he was barely breathing.

Just then Parker came through the door herding Samuel in front of her.

"Help him." Eliot instructed as the young man was pushed into the room by Parker.

Samuel looked at the man in the bed and then at Eliot.

"Why would I help him?" Samuel asked.

"You will help him." Parker hissed at him.

"I am not afraid of you, any of you." Samuel said.

Eliot moved like a flash and came to stand before the young man.

"Listen to me. You will help him of so help me you will join him, and so will your father."

Time seemed to stop as the two stared into each other's eyes gauging each other. Samuel broke eye contact first looking away from the intense gaze of the Hitter.

"You help him and you and your father go free of this." Eliot told him.

Samuel looked at the Hitter and then at the other three occupants of the room. He nodded slightly and moved to Nate's side. He quickly examined the man as the others watched.

"You expect me to keep him alive?"

"You will keep him alive." Eliot said softly.

"He's hypothermic, he has lost a lot of blood. The bullet did some internal damage as well, just how do you expect me to keep him alive."

"Just get him stable and keep him alive until the evacuation helicopter can get here." Hardison said stepping forward. "They said they would be here within the hour."

Sophie looked at the Hacker and smiled at him her eyes thanking him for thinking so fast.

"Tell us what you need. You have all the medical supplies you will need here, you used them for Archibald." Sophie said.

"You are all mad. This man is as good as dead." Samuel told them. Then he saw the look in all of their eyes. "Fine…I will try, but if he dies, you cannot hold me responsible."

"No just your father." Parker said and Samuel spun around to face her.

"If I keep my end of the bargain, my father and myself go free." Samuel said looking at Eliot for confirmation. "And we take Uncle Archie with us."

Eliot heard a sharp intake of breath from Hardison and Parker as Samuel spoke. It was a risk letting them free but if this man could safe Nate, then it would be worth the risk, any risk.

"Agreed…" Eliot said and Sophie nodded in agreement tears welling in her eyes as Eliot made the decision.

"Good…" Samuel said and then barked out orders as to what medical equipment and medicines he would need and where they could find them.

**Thank you all again for your great reviews, I really appreciate each and every one. **


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next hour was spent watching Samuel take care of Nate. He tended the wound as best as he could and administered medication, setting up and IV. Eliot watched him closely but knew that Samuel could just as well be killing Nate as helping him, he would have no idea. He could take care of wounds, in fact he was quite good at patching people up, but this was different.

Samuel told them that the bullet was a through and through, which was a good thing in a way, at least the bullet was not rattling around inside of him causing more damage, the doctor told them. He had lost a lot of blood but that too was mitigated by the cold water he had been immersed in, even so it was touch and go and if they did not get him to a hospital soon, he would die.

It took the air ambulance just over an hour to arrive at the house. It landed and Eliot led the paramedics and the doctor who had accompanied them inside to Nate.

"What happened here?" the doctor asked as he examined Nate and noted that the man had been professionally looked after.

"We were here on a hunting trip and Nate must have got hit by a stray bullet and we only found him drifting in the lake a few hours ago." Eliot explained, using the cover story they had all agreed on.

The doctor looked at him dubiously but said nothing. He made sure Nate was as stable as he could be and then instructed the Paramedics to get him to the helicopter for transport to the nearest hospital.

"I…I need to go with him." Sophie said as they watched Nate being loaded onto the waiting chopper.

"There is space for one passenger." The doctor said.

Sophie looked at the others and nodded. Then she climbed aboard and sat beside Nate taking his hand in hers once more. Eliot and the others watched as the chopper lifted off before he turned to Samuel.

"I kept my side of the bargain." Samuel told him.

"Yes you did." Eliot agreed.

"So we go free."

"You go free." Eliot said. "But let me warn you. If you come near Sophie, Nate or any one of us, I will kill you." He said quietly. The effect was more convincing than any screamed out threat and Eliot's voice sent a chill down the young doctors' spine. "Do you understand?"

"I understand." Samuel replied.

"Good." Eliot said then signalled the others to get into the truck as it was the only working vehicle around. The three of them piled in and Eliot gunned the motor sending the truck down the dirt track that led to the main gate. It would be a good two hour drive to the hospital they had taken Nate to and they wanted to get there as soon as possible.

"Do you think they will come after Sophie again?" Parker asked as they bounced along the road.

"I don't know Parker. But if they do, we will be ready for them." Eliot said.

Hardison and Parker nodded in agreement and then they fell silent as Eliot sped on through the night.

Samuel watched the truck disappear down the track then turned back to the house. He made his way to the room his father was being held in and opened the door.

"What happened?" Rudgar asked his son when he saw he was alone.

"They are gone. The man you shot, Nate I think his name was, they found him and got a medical helicopter to transport him."

"He was alive?" Rudgar said in disbelieve.

"The deal was I keep him alive until the chopper got here and then we…you and me and Uncle Archie go free."

"I see." Rudgar said. "Well let's go see Archie shall we." He said stepping passed his son and making his way to the room they had left Archibald in.

Entering the room Samuel immediately went to Archibald side and examined him. But with one look he could see Archibald Massey would definitely not be seeking his revenge anymore, the man was dead.

"What do we do now?" Samuel asked watching his father cover his friend reverently.

"We take him home and we bury him. Then…" Rudgar said looking into his son's eyes. "Then we give him peace."

Samuel stared at his father the meaning of his words quite clear. Samuel did not think it was a good idea to pursue this any longer. Archie was dead and going after the group who had just let them go was not in anybody's best interests. He had no doubt that Eliot was quite capable of carrying out the threat he had made before leaving. But he would never question his father, or disobey him no matter how foolish he thought he was.

"Do not worry old friend, we will finish your work for you." Rudger said to the dead man. "Come my son, we have work to do."

**Sorry for the short chapter. Thanks for reading and for the reviews. Next chapter up soon…**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

By the time the three of them arrived at the hospital Nate had already been in surgery for over an hour.

"Sophie…" Parker called out as the Thief quickly moved to the older woman's side and sat down beside her.

"They've taken him into surgery. He…it doesn't look good though." She said.

"You know he'll be fine though…" Parker said and her voice carried no doubt in it. "He's Nate and he'll be fine."

"Of course he will…" Hardison said smiling at the young woman. "Give Nate a fighting chance and he'll win."

Eliot said nothing but he and Sophie exchanged looks. Hers told him that Nate's chances were slim and his told her he knew, but at least he had a chance.

"Hardison, you need to set us up here." Eliot told the Hacker. "We may be here for a while."

"You think that Rudgar and his son will come after us?" Parker asked the Hitter.

"I don't know Parker. They might not, but I want to be prepared for anything. Nate is going to be vulnerable for a while and so is Sophie. I doubt that they would do anything whilst we are here in the hospital but…"

"Rather safe than sorry." Hardison finished for him. "Right I'm on it man."

The next few hours were spent waiting for news of Nate. Hardison did not take long to hack all the camera's and security system of the hospital. He also secured for them a room for their use for as long as they required it. Along with that he secured them a hotel room in a place across the road from the hospital. Parker disappeared for a while and when she returned she held a huge teddy bear and a balloon. When Hardison raised his eyebrows at her she smiled to him.

"It's what you get people when they are in hospital." She said and took her seat again next to Sophie. "Besides Nate doesn't like hospitals and this will make him feel better." The older woman could not help but smile at her and pat her arm gently.

"He'll love it Parker." She said softly.

Eliot spent his time observing every person who came within spitting distance of them, he also made a little tour of the floor, mentally noting the exits and entrances and where they would be vulnerable. He and Hardison also made a trip down to the canteen to get some coffee and some food. None of them had eaten in he could not remember when, they were all tired and on edge.

It was another two hours before the doctor finally emerged.

"Mrs Ford." He said as he approached and Sophie stood up to meet him.

"Yes." Sophie said as they gathered around the doctor.

"Your husband made it through surgery. He is in critical condition but stable."

"Oh thank you doctor." Sophie said relieve flooding through her.

"As I said he is still critical. The next fourty eight hours will tell us more." The doctor said.

"Can I see him?" Sophie asked.

"They are going to bring him out of recovery to ICU, you can see him then, but only one of you and only for a few minutes. He will be heavily sedated, we have placed him in a chemically induced coma in order to give his body time to heal. I will have the nurse call you when he has been settled."

"Thank you." Sophie said again.

The doctor nodded and then turned and left. They watched him go and then Parker flung herself at Hardison.

"See I told you…" She said burying her face in his shoulder and letting the tears of relieve flow.

"Yes you did girl…yes you did." Hardison said rubbing her back and squeezing her tightly.

"Mrs Ford…" A nurse said as she came into the waiting area. "You can see your husband now."

Sophie nodded and followed her into the ICU. She approached Nate's bed slowly. He looked so fragile and vulnerable. He had a nasal canal in. He was connected to a myriad of machines which monitored his breathing and his heartbeat amongst other things. She gingerly took his hand in hers, it felt cold and limp. She would give anything for him to open his eyes so that she could see those incredible blue orbs full of love for her.

"I'm here Nate. We are all here for you. Don't worry about anything else but getting better. I love you my darling." She said tears welling in her eyes as she looked down at him. "And don't you think you can get out of marrying me so easily…I waited too long and love you too much to let you go." She said gently rubbing his hand in hers.

"I am sorry but you will have to go now." the nurse said after five minutes.

Sophie looked up at her and then nodded. She leaned in and softly placed a kiss on Nate's cold lips.

"I have to go now Nate, but I will be just outside, we all will. Just rest and get better…I love you Nate." She said again. Then she left the room to join the others in the waiting room again.

"You can see him again in the morning." The nurse, who had followed Sophie out of the room told her. "You should all go home and get some rest." She said. She could see that the four people in front of her were exhausted.

"Thank you."

"It's a pleasure. We have your number and if anything happens we will let you know." She said then returned to her duties.

"She's right, we all need some rest." Eliot said.

"Well Sophie can stay here in the room." Hardison said knowing they would have no chance of getting the woman to leave the hospital.

"Ok, you and Parker go to the hotel and get cleaned up and get some sleep. I'll stay here with Sophie."

"I don't want to go." Parker pouted.

"Girl we need to get some rest. We will do Nate no good if we can't stay on our feet." Hardison said wrapping his arm around her.

"You'll call if anything happens." Parker said looking at Eliot.

"You know it." Eliot confirmed.

So it was agreed and Parker and Hardison took their leave after they had seen Sophie to the room Hardison had secured. Sophie had a shower and then climbed onto the bed. It took only a few minutes for her to drift into sleep. Eliot moved to the sofa. He pulled out the IPad Hardison had given him and pulled up all of the security camera's in the hospital. Then he settled back and made himself comfortable for his long vigil.

**So Nate is still hanging on. Thanks again for the reviews. I am glad you are still enjoying the story.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The next two days Nate was kept in a chemically induced coma. On the third day the doctor informed them that they would be starting to wean him off and allow him to regain consciousness. The doctor warned them however that he may take time to wake as. He had suffered tremendous trauma, he had suffered extreme blood loss and hypothermia. The oxygen levels in his blood were very low when he had been brought into the hospital and therefore when he did wake there could be other complications. Brain damage was not ruled out. The only good news the doctor had for them was that Nate was doing well enough to be moved out of ICU and into a private high care room. That at least meant they could be with him.

It was getting late into the evening on the fourth day and the four of them were sitting around the room. Sophie was seated beside Nate's bed where she had been from the time they had moved him in. Parker and Hardison were seated on the other side of the bed sitting beside each other with Parker half leaning on the Hacker. Eliot stood in the corner of the room watching over all of them. There had been no sign of Rudgar or his son or Lord Massey for that matter, but that did not mean that the threat was over. Eliot realised that by letting them go the threat may never be over, they could wait and only strike in a week, a month or even a year. He realised it was a dangerous thing he had done, but he would take that risk again, to get Nate back he would take any risk.

"Well it's getting late. Why don't you guys go and get some food in the canteen. I'll stay with him and you can bring me something back." Eliot said breaking the silence.

"No…I'm not hungry." Sophie replied.

"Sophie you have been sitting with him for two days, you need a break." Eliot said. "We have all been out and you need to take a breath too." Eliot told her. "Now go."

"If he wakes up…" Sophie started to say. "Then you will be the first to know."

"Second…"

"Huh what Parker…?" Eliot asked.

"She'll be the second 'cause you will be the first of course." Parker said getting up. "Come on Sophie let's go get some food…the chocolate cake is great."

"I'll have some of that cake…" Eliot said as they walked out the room. Then he turned back to Nate and took Sophie's seat beside Nate's bed.

They were gone for ten minutes when Nate stirred in the bed. Eliot immediately stood and leaned over the man watching him closely as he fought his way back to consciousness.

Nate cracked open an eye. The pain he felt all over his body ruled out heaven the thought ruefully and then the look of the Hitter's face sealed it for him.

"I'm not dead…" He said hoarsely as he opened his other eye and stared into Eliot's face.

"No but you should be." Eliot replied. "Just what the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't…"

"Thinking at all." Eliot finished for him.

Nate closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "Sophie…?" He asked his voice full of angst.

"She's fine. No damage." Eliot said laying the Mastermind's mind to rest.

"Thank God…"

"Nate…I mean it man what the hell were you thinking? Throwing that earbud out…" Eliot said shaking his head,

"I did what had to be done." Nate said licking his lips.

"You did what…dammit Nate…you could have died out there."

"You had to concentrate on Sophie…I had to be sure…"

"We would have got to her. Hardison had her location, but to throw the only thing that could lead us to you, that was…that was suicide man."

"It turned out fine." Nate said softly. "I left it where you could follow it to, where you could find Sophie and that was the most important thing at that moment." Nate said defending his actions. He could tell that Eliot was angry with him for doing what he did, but he had done what needed to be done. Sophie's safety was more important than anything else.

"If you ever do anything like that again…I swear Nate…"

"You would have done the same thing Eliot and you know it. Sophie's safety was paramount…It's what I had to do."

"Damn you Nate…" Eliot said in exasperation.

"What about Rudgar and the rest?" Nate said wanting to move away from the recriminations.

"We let them go."

"You…you let them go?"

"We needed Samuel, Rudgar's son, to treat you, to keep you alive till we could get you here, so yeah…we let them go that was the deal."

"Eliot…" Nate said wincing slightly as he tried to push himself up in the bed. "Are you crazy…they are going to come after her again dammit…" Nate hissed out.

"We had no choice…"

"Yes you did. You should have gotten Sophie out of there and made sure they could never come after he again…dammit why did you think I threw that earbud out…"

"What was I supposed to do let you die?"

"Yes…"

"Well you are an idiot." Eliot said.

"It's what I wanted, it's what you should have done." Nate continued. "Sophie's safety is paramount…"

"Really…" Sophie's voice cut into the conversation.

"Sophie…" Nate said his eyes going to the woman in the doorway and immediately knowing he was in trouble. "He shouldn't have let them go."

"Really…? Because they could come after me again, so just in case they do I should…we should let you die?" Sophie said and by the tone in her voice Nate knew he was in trouble.

"It wasn't worth the risk." Nate said softly.

"Nate…" Sophie said stepping forward to the Masterminds side as Eliot backed away to join the other two at the end of the bed. "You should know better than anybody, if you can do something to save the person…the man you love, anything at all and don't…"

Nate looked at Sophie and then at the other three. He leaned back in his bed and closed his eyes.

"We love you Nate. I love you and any risk taken is worth it to save you. Now what you did…" Sophie said taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "What exactly was that?"

"Ok…ok I get it…" Nate said opening his eyes and looking up into hers. "I just…Sophie if anything happened to you…"

"Nate…" She said leaning in and kissing him gently on the lips. "If anything happened to you…"

"Oh get a room will you…there are children here you know…" Hardison said as they deepened their kiss.

"Let's give them some privacy…" Eliot said a small tight smile on his lips. Whatever had happened was over, they were here, they were safe and that was all that mattered for now. As for what happened now, well they would face it together. "Parker…" Eliot said as he and Hardison walked towards the door but the Thief remained watching Sophie and Nate. "Privacy Parker…" He said rolling his eyes as he ushered her out the room then closed the door.

"Don't ever do that again Nate…" Sophie said her eyes filling with tears. Nate raised his hand up and placed it on her face wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

"I never want to be the cause of your tears…" Nate whispered to her lifting his head to capture her lips again.

"Then stop trying to get yourself killed." She whispered back as she pulled away from him slightly. "I mean it Nate."

"I promise…" He smiled at her.

"Can we come in again now…?" Parker's voice floated through the door.

Nate and Sophie looked at each other and then smiled.

"Yes Parker…" Sophie called out as she sat down next to Nate but did not let go of his hand.

"Did you see the teddy and the balloon?" Parker asked as she came back into the room followed by the two boys.

"Yes…they are really nice." Nate smiled at her. Parker's face brightened with a huge smile as she bounced over to the bed. "You didn't steel them did you?" Nate asked picturing a patient somewhere in the hospital wondering where their bear and their balloon was.

"No." Parker said happily. "I bought them…" She said and fished in her pocket. "See…" She said holding out a receipt.

Nate smiled at her and Sophie let out a little chuckle. They stood around the bed talking to the Mastermind going through what had happened.

"Then we found the house and…" Parker continued with her story as she looked down at Nate. "Nate…" She said but the Mastermind had drifted back into sleep somewhere along the line.

"Let's let him get some sleep ok?" Eliot said looking down at the man. "Hardison, Parker why don't you go back to the hotel." He said. He really thought Sophie should go and get some sleep but to suggest that now would be pointless. She was not going to leave Nate's side right now.

"Ok…we'll be back in the morning." Hardison said taking Parker's arm and leading her out the room.

They were gone for a few minutes and then made another appearance. Hardison was pushing a bed with Parker lying in it.

"What the…" Eliot said as they came through the door.

"Sophie needs to rest too doesn't she?" Parker asked as she hoped off the bed and helped Hardison move it flush against Nate's as Eliot removed bedside table.

"Thank you." Sophie said smiling at the two youngest members of her family.

"Ok well we'll see you in the morning." Hardison said.

"Good night." Sophie replied watching them leave. Eliot smiled at them and then turned to Sophie and indicated she should get onto the bed.

Sophie climbed up onto the bed and made herself comfortable clasping Nate's hand in hers and within minutes she was asleep.

"Nothing is going to happen to either of you…" He said softly as he closed the door and then took up his position in a chair next to it. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks again for the great reviews.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The next week passed uneventfully. Nate remained in the hospital for two days until the doctor finally gave him permission to go home. The doctor had referred him to somebody in Portland who could take over his care, and he was advised that at least for the next few weeks he was to exert himself as little as possible, he was far from recovered and his body needed a lot more time to recover. Sophie promised the doctor that she would make sure he was well taken care of and that the doctor had nothing to worry about.

The group arrived back in Portland late in the evening and Nate was exhausted from the flight. Eliot had insisted that until they had determined what the threat was from Massey and his people, they would both stay at his place. Nate had objected at first, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep in his own bed with his beautiful wife, but Eliot was insistent and Nate realised he was fighting a losing battle. At least they were going to be imprisoned in Eliot's home instead of in the crash pads that Hardison had set up at the Brewery; he had nixed that proposition as soon as it had been made. It was coming to the end of the week and still no sign of any kind of danger.

"I think Rudgar and his son decided it was best to leave sleeping dogs lie…" Nate said as they sat around the dinner table on the evening of the fifth night at Eliot's house.

"Let sleeping wolves lie…" Parker corrected him. Nate looked at her quizzically and she explained that Eliot had told them they would have to deal with him if they came after him or Sophie and Eliot was a wolf and therefore it should be sleeping wolves lie. Nate sighed heavily but did not even try to refute her logic.

"We'll give it another week." Eliot said standing up to clear the table.

"And if there is nothing happening then…are you going to want to give it another week?" Nate asked exasperatedly.

Eliot looked at Nate locking eyes with the Mastermind. He knew Nate was frustrated, he wanted his freedom…he wanted to go home and do whatever it was that Nate did. He knew the Mastermind hated being babied and being under constant surveillance. All of that however was irrelevant to him, his only concern was the Mastermind and the Grifters safety and if that meant they had to be inconvenienced for a while then so be it.

"You will stay here for as long as I deem it necessary." Eliot said not backing off at all. "Rudgar is out there, I can feel it in my gut. He is out there and he is just waiting for the right opportunity and I am not about to give it to him by letting you two go off on your own."

"Ok one more week…" Sophie said quickly seeing Nate was building up to argue with the Hitter. "Then we will re-evaluate our position ok…?" Sophie asked her eyes going from Nate to Eliot.

The seconds ticked by and then Eliot finally broke eye contact with Nate and smiled at Sophie. "Sounds fair…" He said. "Now who want's desert?"

All hands flew up around the table, except for Nate's; he was never one with a very sweet tooth, besides desert and whiskey did not mix well. The Mastermind sat back in his chair and sipped on his drink watching as the rest of the family helped themselves to generous helpings of the desert Eliot had placed on the table.

Another week passed and still nothing happened. Nate was recovering well and was almost back to his old self, except for the fact that he still tired quite easily.

"So after the check up this morning we are going home." Nate stated as they finished their breakfast. Parker and Hardison looked from Nate to Eliot and held their breaths.

"Nate I'm telling you he is out there." Eliot said softly. "I can feel it."

"Eliot, there has been no sign of him and we can't keep living here forever. Now if he is going to come after us I trust you to take care of it, but you can do that just as well if we are at our own house. Hardison has set up all the security, there is no way that anybody is getting in and we promise not to wonder around by ourselves…" Nate smiled slightly at the Hitter. "We'll be good."

"I don't like it." Eliot repeated. He knew this was not over, he knew it in a way only a Hitter could. "The fact that Hardison cannot trace them is not the best sign Nate."

"Eliot…" Nate sighed heavily. He knew the Hitter was only concerned for them and he did not want to escalate this to an out and out dispute between him and Eliot. "We have to move on sometime…if Rudgar is out there…" Nate said holding up his hand to stop Eliot from saying anything. "If he is out there, then he is going to make a move whether we are here or not."

"One more week…" Eliot said. "One more week and then…"

"Eliot I will do anything to protect Sophie and you know that. But it has been over two weeks already and nothing. Now I am not saying your gut is wrong, all I am saying is that either we live here forever, or we go home and if that brings Rudgar out then that is what has to happen."

"Nate is right Eliot." Sophie added as she too was going a little stir crazy. Eliot had not let them out of the house for the last two weeks except to go to Nate's doctors' appointments. As much as she knew that all the Hitter was doing was ensuring their safety, they had to start living again. She had a theatre to run and Nate had…well Nate things to do. "This has to end one way or another. If he is going to come after us then he is obviously not going to do it while you have us snuggly settled here, and we cannot stay here forever."

Eliot knew they were right, he also knew his gut was never wrong.

"Fine…" Eliot said with a slight pout. "But when things go wrong…"

"We won't blame you…" Nate smiled at him. He knew he would not have to the Hitter would blame himself enough. "Besides…I know you won't be far if something does happen." He said knowingly. He was sure that the moment they moved back into their house, Eliot would be ensconced in Lucille with the other three, stationed outside their house keeping constant watch on them.

"Ok so that's settled, come on Nate or we are going to be late for your appointment." Sophie said standing up from the table and picking up her bag.

Nate was about to join here when there was the sound of a window breaking and then Sophie crumpled to the ground.

"Sophie…" Nate cried out dropping to her side and lifting her up to him. Her head lolled back and her hands hung limply, she was like a little rag doll in his arms. "No…No…NO….Sophie…please…" Nate pleaded as he pulled his hand away from her back to find it covered in blood.

"Hardison call 911…" Eliot said as he dropped to his knees opposite Nate. "Parker windows..."

Parker nodded and slinked her way to the windows closing the heavy curtains and plunging the room into semi darkness. She knew Sophie had been hit by a snipers bullet it was the only explanation.

"Ambulance is on its way." Hardison said.

"Nate let me look at her." Eliot said softly.

Nate looked up at the Hitter from Sophie. He had lifted her into his arms and was now covered in her blood. It took him a few seconds but he nodded and lay the Grifter down on the floor gently. Eliot felt for a pulse, relieved to find one, but Sophie was in bad shape. There was no exit wound and the bullet had entered her back just above her heart. There was nothing he could do; they just had to wait for the paramedics to arrive.

"Sophie don't leave me…please don't leave me…you have to fight…please Sophie…" Nate said holding her hand tightly and running his hand gently over her forehead. "Please Sophie stay with me…"

**Ah a bit of a cliff hanger… I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I am sorry it is taking me a bit of time to get around to posting the chapters, which is not my usual way, but my life is very hectic at the moment. Thank you for all the great reviews, I really do appreciate them. I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

When the paramedics arrived it was mayhem in the house. They worked frantically on Sophie and eventually stabilised her enough to get her into the ambulance. Nate climbed into the ambulance with her and they set off towards the hospital with the three others following close behind.

"Sophie I love you, please don't leave me…you can't die, do you understand me Sophie…you cannot die…you are not going to die…you will not die!" Nate whispered to her as he sat beside her in the ambulance.

Just as they were approaching the hospital the alarms started to ring out telling the paramedics that Sophie's heart was failing.

"No Sophie…fight…fight please…" Nate begged her as they tried to resuscitate her.

The ambulance pulled up at the entrance to the ER and two doctors and a bevy of nurses ran out to meet them. Sophie was unloaded from the back of the ambulance with a paramedic still performing CPR which a nurse immediately took over from him. He proceeded to give the details of Sophie's condition, the medication they had given her and everything else that the doctor would need to know. The doctor nodded as they ran along barking orders to his staff. They passed through swing doors which is where Nate was stopped.

"Please wait out here; somebody will be out to see you as soon as they can." A nurse told him and then disappeared through the doors herself. Nate was left standing alone, staring at the swinging doors for the operating theatre. That was where the other three found him.

"Nate…Nate…" Eliot said softly laying his hand on the Mastermind's shoulder.

"She…she can't die." Nate said in a broken voice.

"Let's sit down…" Eliot said not wanting to tell him she won't because from what he had seen the real probability was that she was not going to make it. "She is in good hands now."

Nate let Eliot lead him back into the waiting area and sit him down. He closed his eyes and buried his head in his hands. He could hear the distinctive sounds of a hospital, the constant hum of machines and the low mutter of voices. The noises and the smells brought back memories that he did not want, nor need at this point. If this ended badly, if he lost Sophie, he was not sure what he would do. The next hours were agonising for Nate as he sat and waited for news on Sophie. Finally after six hours the doctor made his appearance.

"Mr Ford…?" He asked as he walked into the waiting room and Nate immediately stood to meet him.

"Yes…" Nate said his usually glib tongue stilled. He dared not ask the question because he was afraid of what the answer would be.

"Your wife made it through surgery although her heart stopped three times. She is in critical condition, the bullet passed through her back and clipped her heart bouncing off a rib and lodging in her lung. She is on a ventilator to help her breathe and give her lungs time to heal. We have sedated her and will keep her sedated for the next fourty eight hours. We will be able to tell you more then." The doctor said. "They will be bringing her out of recovery soon and up to her room. You can see her then, but only for a few minutes."

"Thank you." Nate said quietly.

The doctor nodded and then left. They waited again until the nurse came to fetch them about half an hour later. Nate hesitated slightly before stepping into Sophie's room. She lay on the hospital bed with machines surrounding her. The lower half of her face was obscured by the ventilator which swished softly beside her in rhythm with the rise and fall of her chest. He approached the bed slowly and stopped when he reached her side. He reached out and took her hand in his pressing it between his two hands. She felt cold and her hand was limp. A chill ran down his spine as he remembered how his son had felt when he had held him when he died. It took everything he had in him to keep his emotions in check as he leaned over her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you Sophie. You are the strongest woman I know and I know you are going to beat this, you are going to come back to me." He whispered to her stroking her hair gently. "You need to fight…you need to fight my darling please."

He was still standing beside her when the monitors started wailing out in warning. He was pushed aside by the nurses who rushed in at the first sign of distress. Then he was pushed out the room as the doctors and more nurses arrived with a crash cart and they started to work on her. He stood just outside the door staring in through the window as they used the paddles on her for the first time. He did not even feel Eliot's presence as he came to stand behind him. His mind was consumed with images from the past mixed with the present. He could feel everything closing in on him and suddenly he felt as if he could not breathe. He could not do this again…he could not witness her die as he had with his son. He could not be here. Nate backed away from the window bumping into Eliot who now was directly behind him. He turned around and his eyes met Eliot's for an instant before he reached out and moved the man out of his way, quickly making his way to the stair and disappearing through the door and down to the exit of the hospital. Eliot looked into the room and saw that they were still working on Sophie, frantically trying to get the woman's heart to start beating again. He turned to Hardison and Parker who stood with frightened expressions on their faces, staring through the glass window at what was happening in the room. He doubted they had even seen Nate leave. Only for an instant was Eliot torn between staying there and going after Nate.

"Alec…" Eliot said his voice low and quiet. Hardison turned to the Hitter his attention pulled by the use of his first name. "I'm going after Nate…stay here and…just stay here."

Hardison nodded and turned back to the window, his arm reaching out and wrapping itself around the little Thief who stood beside him.

Eliot exited the hospital to find Nate sitting with his head in his hands on a bench a short way from the entrance to the hospital. He did not say anything to the Mastermind but took a seat beside him. They were seated like that when Parker and Hardison made an appearance ten minutes later.

"Nate…Sophie's ok…she's ok…she's not dead…Nate do you hear me?" Parker said as she approached the bench.

Nate looked up at the Thief. Parker stopped in her tracks as she saw Nate's hollow washed out blue eyes staring back at her. His eyes were red rimmed and she could see he had been crying, his skin was pale and she could see beads of sweet on his forehead. He did not look good. Then she smiled at him trying to be as reassuring as she could.

"She…they managed to make her heart beat again and she is fine, she is going to be fine." Parker told him.

"You hear that Nate…?" Hardison asked when Nate made no reply.

"You need to be with her…" Nate said his voice strained. "Go back and stay with her."

Parker looked confused. Was Nate not going to go back with them? Did he not want to be with Sophie, especially now?

"Go now!" Nate said his voice hard and low. Parker almost jumped at the harshness in his voice. Then Hardison took her arm and pulled her back towards the hospital.

Silence reigned after they had left. Eliot made no sound and no move, he was waiting for the Mastermind.

"Eliot, you promise me that you will make sure they cannot get to her again." Nate finally said not looking at the Hitter. He sat leaning forward his arms resting on his legs and staring at the pavement in front of him. "They cannot get to her again." He said emphatically.

"They won't." Eliot assured him. "I swear."

"Good." Nate said standing up.

Eliot stood up with him and turned to face him. Their eyes met and in Nate's eyes Eliot saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

"Nate what are you planning?" Eliot asked. He had seen that look before.

"Eliot I want you to go back in there and I want you to make sure my wife…"Nate swallowed hard, they were not married yet exactly but Sophie was his wife, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. "Make sure Sophie is safe…make sure that…" Again Nate hesitated. "No matter what happens Eliot, you take care of her."

"Nate…what are you planning to do?" Eliot said again and this time he said it with concern in his voice as he grabbed Nate's arm.

"Eliot I am not going to debate this with you." Nate said drawing himself up to his full height and pulling his arm away from the Hitter. "You will go up there and you will make sure that my family are safe…you owe me that. What I do or do not do is none of your concern do I make myself clear." Nate said in a tone that Eliot knew well, it was cold and hard and ruthless. It was one of the few things that made Eliot's heart cringe in fear for what was to come.

"Nate…"

"Enough!" Nate almost shouted at the Hitter. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Take care of them Eliot." Nate said softly before turning away from the Hitter and calling himself a cab.

Eliot could do nothing but watch him go. He could not leave, he knew he had to stay and watch over Sophie and the other two. He knew Rudgar was not finished with them and if Sophie survived…He swallowed hard at the mere possibility of her not surviving. If she survived she was going to be vulnerable and it was going to take all of them to protect her. He had not been able to protect her before, but this time…nobody was going to get near her, not only did he owe that to Nate, he owed it to himself. Watching as the cab pulled away Eliot turned and headed back into the hospital. He joined the other three outside Sophie's room and saw the looks of concern on their faces when they saw Nate was not with him.

"Where is Nate?" Parker asked softly.

"I don't know Parker. He said he had to go somewhere."

"Are you crazy…?" Hardison said jumping up. "Rudgar could be after him and he is still not fully recovered and he is hurting and…"

Eliot held his hand up stopping the Hackers flood of words.

"Our job is to take care of Sophie. I promised Nate we would." Eliot said looking at both of them. "He has to do what he has to do he will come back when he is ready."

"He's going to get drunk isn't he?" parker asked with a pout. Although she loved Nate dearly and respected him more than any man on earth, she knew his shortcomings and dealing with emotional trauma with liquor was one of them."

"I honestly don't know Parker." Eliot sighed but he too suspected that Nate was not going to go somewhere and get drunk, if that was all that the Mastermind planned to do he would not be so damn worried about him. He looked into the room where Sophie lay and closed his eyes. Two of the people he cared most about in the world were in perilous danger and he could do nothing for either of them.

**Thanks for bearing with me and keeping on reading and reviewing. Each and every review is greatly appreciated. So where do you think Nate has gone and what do you think he is going to do? Will Sophie be alright? **


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Nate took a cab from the hospital to his and Sophie's house. He needed to collect a few things before he set his plan in motion. After spending a few minutes at the house he called another cab and then set off to the airport. His plan was daring, brazen and a little bit suicidal, no he corrected himself as he thought about it, it was definitely just suicidal, but it would work. The bottom line was it had to work because Rudgar had just shown that he could get to them anywhere and at any time, Eliot could not stop a snipers bullet, but he could stop the man himself if he knew where he could find him, Nate could make sure that he did, he had no doubt it would cost him, but he knew he could do it. The last thing he did before boarding the plane was call the hospital. To his relief Sophie was stable. She had had no further setbacks and the nurse assured him that she was doing well. Nate thanked the nurse and then boarded the plane. It was a direct flight so he should get to his destination in about six hours baring any delays.

At the hospital the three of them had not left the waiting room outside of Sophie's room. They had discussed where Nate was and what he was doing. Parker and Hardison were convinced that the Mastermind was at some bar or the other getting drunk. Both of them were a little angry with the man for leaving considering the circumstances. Eliot was not sure what Nate was doing, but he was afraid it was not sitting at a bar getting drunk. He was completely aware of everybody that was around, what the nurses were doing and who was entering and leaving Sophie's room. He would notice if somebody new came around as he mentally noted who was assigned to Sophie's care. Thanks to his heightened alertness he was also aware that the nurse had received a call at her station from Nate. That set the Hitters mind slightly at ease, and at the same time made him even more concerned. He approached the nurse and asked her about the conversation, she told Eliot that Nate had asked about Sophie's condition and her prognosis. She had confirmed that the man did not sound in the least intoxicated, although with Nate that did not mean much. Eliot went back to the waiting room and sat down his mind racing as he thought about what Nate could possibly be up to.

"Hardison, can you track Nate?" Eliot asked the Hacker.

"Are we going to go and fetch him from the bar and bring him back here?" Parker asked hopefully. She firmly believed that Nate should be here with Sophie. If it was him in the bed in the room beyond the window, Sophie would be here for him, and if Sophie woke up and Nate was not there then that would not be good.

"Just tell me where he is." Eliot said looking at Hardison.

Hardison pulled out his phone and pushed a few buttons. Then he looked up a surprised look on his face.

"He's at their house." Hardison said.

"You sure…?"

"Yes I'm sure Eliot…" Hardison said in a slightly annoyed voice. Had the Hitter learnt nothing over the last six years?

Eliot stood and walked over to the window to Sophie's room. He was torn. He felt something was wrong, Nate was doing something stupid and he was terrified of what it might be. At the same time, he knew Rudgar was out there, and Rudgar's son was a doctor, a man who could easily make his way through the hospital and get close to Sophie without suspicion from the medical staff. He could also make sure Sophie never recovered, she was vulnerable but yet, if they just made sure that only those they knew treated her, then she should be fairly safe.

"Hardison, I need to get to Nate." Eliot said finally making up his mind on what to do. "You need to make sure Samuel does not get in here. If they do come after Sophie here, it will be him. any new doctors you need to check out." Usually that would not be a problem because Hardison would just use his facial recognition software. The problem was they had no photographs of either Rudgar or his son, they did not even know their last names.

"Just let him drink and get it over with." Hardison said. If Eliot went over there and Nate was drunk then there would be a fight and that was the last thing they needed right now. Nate would come back to the hospital when he was ready. They all knew how Nate felt about hospitals and how well or not so well he dealt with emotional trauma. It was best in his mind to leave the Mastermind alone.

"I am not asking your permission to go, I need you to tell me that Sophie will be safe between the two of you." Eliot told the Hacker.

"Yeah ok…" Hardison said sighing heavily. He knew how obstinate Nate could be when drunk and he knew how angry Eliot could get with his disapproval of Nate's drinking especially under certain circumstances.

"Don't worry Eliot, nobody is getting close to her, we'll make sure of that." Parker assured the Hitter. She thought it was probably good that Eliot went to fetch Nate.

"Ok…I'll be back in about an hour. I doubt they will try anything here, but be careful." Eliot said before leaving.

It took Eliot less than thirty minutes to make the trip to Nate and Sophie's house. Pulling up in the driveway he quickly walked to the door knocking loudly. He waited a few minutes and then knocked again calling out Nate's name as he did so. He still go no reply, either Nate was already fall down drunk or he was not there, or worse…Eliot suddenly got a bad feeling in his gut and quickly picked the lock and threw the door open. The house was dark and silent.

"Nate…" Eliot called out. Nothing looked disturbed. "Nate…" He called again making his way slowly through the house checking each room. Finally he made his way through the living room. The house was empty, Nate was definitely not here. Eliot pulled out his phone and dialled Hardison's number.

"Eliot." Hardison answered after only one ring. "Is everything OK?"

"He's not here." Eliot told the Hacker.

"No…" Hardison said looking down at his phone and shaking his head. "He must be."

"Well I am here Hardison and the place is empty." Eliot growled out. Then the Hitter's eyes fell upon a small collection of things on the table, laid out in front of an envelope with Eliot's name on it.

"Well his watch, his phone and some other things are here so that solves that mystery." Eliot told the Hacker. "I'll get back to you." He said wanting to read the note. He put the phone down and lifted up the envelope. His stomach knotted slightly as he opened it and pulled out the paper inside.

_Eliot_

_I am sure it is you who is here looking for me. I told you to take care of Sophie and not to worry about me, that holds so get back to the hospital, Hardison and Parker are good but you are the Hitter, do your job and I'll do mine._

_Nate_

_PS…Thank you Eliot, you are a good man and I trust you to do what you need to do. Take care of them and yourself._

"Damn you Nate what are you up to?" Eliot hissed out as he read the note.

Eliot put the piece of paper back in the envelope and tucked it into his pocket. There was nothing he could do about it now. He had no idea where the Mastermind had gone but maybe Hardison could do something to find him. He quickly made his way out of the house again locking the door behind him and was back at the hospital a short while later.

"Eliot where is he?" Hardison asked when the Hitter walked back into the waiting room.

"I don't know." Eliot said and told them about the little pile of things Nate had left knowing that Hardison had tracking devices in them, and about the note.

"No what do we do?" Parker asked and for the first time she had a little fear in her voice, she was sure Nate had just gone of drinking but now she was afraid of what he was off doing.

"We find him. Hardison…" Eliot replied then looked at the Hacker questioningly.

"Yeah…I can try. He must have taken a cab so I can find out which company took the call and where they dropped him off." Hardison said thinking out loud.

"Then do it..." Eliot said.

"Where do you think he went Eliot?" Parker asked the Hitter. "I mean we have no idea where Rudgar and Samuel are, even Hardison can't find them."

"I don't know Parker, but we will find him." Eliot told the Thief.

"Ok…well he was picked and dropped off at the airport." Hardison said frowning slightly. "No bookings in the name of Nate Ford though." He said. "I'll check his aliases…"

"He flew somewhere?" Parker asked confused.

"Apparently..." Eliot said keeping his eyes on the Hacker. "Hardison…?"

"Hey man Nate has a number of aliases and it could take a while…" Hardison said defensively. "I also have facial recognition going so just give me a minute or two ok."

Eliot rose up and walked over to look into Sophie's room. She remained the same and he could see the indicators on the machines around her showed her condition was stable. He was still staring into the room when Hardison announced that he had found where Nate had gone.

"What the hell is he doing there?" Eliot asked.

"Hey man I do the where…not the why." Hardison said when Eliot looked at him.

"Do we go after him?" Parker asked not really interested in where it was just that Nate was alone and possibly in danger.

"No Parker." Eliot said shaking his head. "We know where he is going but not why or where exactly, the place isn't exactly small."

"Well I can try to track him when he gets there depending on if he rents a car or takes a taxi or what." Hardison said going back to his phone. "But I don't know man…why would Nate go there at all?"

Eliot did not answer. He had no idea why Nate was there but he was sure he was not going to like the answer to the question. Well he thought…there was nothing he could do for now, all he could do is make sure Sophie was taken care of. Nate would let them know in time, and if he needed help, well he would have to get hold of them and ask.

**What do you think Nate is up to and where has he gone? Do you think Rudgar and his son will make a move on Sophie in the hospital? Thanks again for all the reviews and I am glad that you are all still enjoying the story.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Nate arrived in New York exactly six hours later. He quickly made arrangements for a hired car and then set off to see the man he had come here to see. He knew he was taking a risk but this was the only man he knew who might be able to give them the whereabouts of Rudgar and his son. As he approached the gates of the house he fished out the earbud from his pocked and placed it in his ear.

"Eliot…"

"Nate…what the hell are you doing and why are you in New York…?" Eliot immediately answered.

"How is Sophie?" Nate asked without answering his questions.

"Holding her own. The doctor saw her this morning and said she was healing well, they will start weaning her of the sedation from today." Eliot said. "You know you should be here when she wakes up."

"I know…" Nate said softly. Sophie was going to want to see him when she woke up but he had to do this. "Hardison you there."

"Yeah man I'm here." Hardison replied.

"Ok I don't have much time so listen. You need to monitor the conversation I am going to have. I should get the full names and locations of Rudgar and Samuel."

"How are you going to do that?" Parker asked.

"It doesn't matter Parker. What matters is that you concentrate on getting them and not on anything else. No matter what happens..."

"I don't like the sound of that." Hardison mumbled.

"Nate what hair-brained scheme…"

"Look we need to know who they are so that Hardison can get something on them and be able to track them if I can't get their locations, so just monitor the conversation. Ok I have to go I'm coming up to the gate now…" Nate said as he slowed down and turned up the drive. "Eliot…tell Sophie…tell her I'm sorry and that I love her." He said before he brought the car to a stop as a large man approached him.

"What you want?" The man said in a heavy Russian accent.

"I want to see Mr Kovski." Nate told the man. "Tell him Nathan Ford is here to see him."

"_Kovski…are you out of your mind…?"_ Eliot hissed as he listed to Nate.

"Get out of car…" the big man said as he returned to the car. Nate obliged and climbed out of the car. He was immediately grabbed and thrown against the vehicle and searched. Once the man was sure he was not armed he turned him around again. "Get in car, I will take you to house."

Nate obliged and climbed into the car's back seat. He was joined by another man who had come out of the guard house. The man who had told him to get in the car got into the driver's seat and started the car up the driveway as the gates opened.

"_Nate what the hell do you think you are doing?"_ Eliot's voice came through the earbud.

Nate ignored Eliot and then the chime in from both Hardison and parker and they spoke simultaneously.

"Out of car..." The man said as they pulled up in front of the large house. Nate climbed out of the car and was immediately escorted into the house and into a large room. The room had only two occupants, a young man who stood beside an older one who sat behind beautifully crafted wooden desk.

"Well, well, well...Mr Nathan Ford…" The older man said as Nate was brought to stand before him.

"Kovski…" Nate said looking from the older to the younger man.

"Juri…get Mr Ford some whiskey…" Kovski said keeping his eyes on Nate. "You still drink whiskey?"

"Yes…" Nate said taking a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs facing the desk. The younger man walked over to the wet bar and poured Nate a glass of whiskey. He handed the glass to Nate and then took his place beside Kovski again.

"Juri this is the man that caused me a lot of trouble…he cheated me, conned me…and now he delivers himself to me…why do you think he did that when he knows I will kill him?" Kosvski said talking to Juri but keeping his eyes locked on Nate.

"I need a favour." Nate said taking a sip of his drink.

"You hear that Juri…he needs a favour."

"Look I don't have time to play games Kovski. You know me well enough to know that I would never walk in here without some sort of plan, some back up." Nate said downing the rest of his drink and putting the glass on the table.

Kovski did not show any obvious reaction to Nate's words but Nate could see he understood. Nate had to smile, even the mere threat of Eliot was enough to make this man sweat. Of course the job they had done on him would have left him with a healthy respect for Eliot and his capabilities. Kovski smiled at him and then looked at Juri giving the man instructions without saying a word. Juri moved over to the phone and spoke a few short words in Russian before returning to the desk.

"You are going to tell me about a man named Rudgar. He has a son called Samuel. I want to know their last names and I want to know their location." Nate said standing up and walking over to the wet bar. Juri moved to intercept him but Kovski touched his arm and shook his head slightly.

"What makes you think I know these people and where they are?" Kovski asked as Nate took his seat again.

"Because Kovski, you know everything about every Russian who works his trade in this country, now Rudgar is ex-KGB and he would have sought out the services of a sniper in the last while he would have come to you, or been referred to you."

"And what do I get if I give you this information?" Kovski asked sitting back in his seat.

"You get this…" Nate said dipping his hand in his pocket and taking out a flash drive.

Nate held out the device to Kovski who looked at it and then at Nate. The he reached out and took it from Nate and handed it to Juri. The young Russian took the flash drive and plugged it into the computer pulling up the information on the disk. Once the information was displayed he turned his attention to the screen. Then he whistled to himself and turned back to Nate.

"How do I know this is true?"

"Because I am a man of my word Kovski…"

Kovski laughed out loud and at the same time lifted the gun from his lap that he had had there since Nate had entered the room.

"You…a con man…a man of your word?" Kovski said the mirth completely out of his voice. "What if I just put a bullet through your brain right now Ford and take the information anyway."

"Because it is incomplete... You need me for the rest of it and I am not going to give it to you until you give me what I want." Nate said unperturbed by the weapon aimed directly at him.

"Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the techniques my men possess to get that information from you?" Kovski said.

"Like I said Kovski, I don't have time to play games. You want that information, I want mine. Fair trade. Do we have a deal?"

Kovski sat back and stared at Nate. He really wanted what Nate was offering, besides he did not like Rudgar Milliard, he was a smug man who thought himself better than Kovski because he had been in the top echelon of the KGB and he Kovski was a mere criminal. But now Kovski was at the top of the Russian Mob here in America and Milliard was just a man with a past. Of course he had helped the man when he came to him because he had been referred by somebody you did not say no to. So now he could kill two birds with one stone. Ford would give him what he wanted and then he would kill the man and add to that Rudgar would get what was coming to him as well. It was a good deal.

"Fair deal." Kovski said coming to his decision. "The man you are referring to is Rudgar Milliard, his son is a doctor, Samuel. The last I heard they were staying at a remote house somewhere on the coast."

"You have a contact number…?" Nate asked and when Kovski did not respond he sat back and smiled. "You must have some way of contacting him."

"Yes…Juri give Mr Ford the mobile number we have for him." Kovski ordered the young man beside him. Juri nodded and disappeared for a moment returning with a piece of paper with the contact number on it. "It probably does not work any longer."

"Perhaps..." Nate replied taking the paper. "Mobile number 777 672 145." Nate read out slowly.

"Now you give me yours…" Kovski said.

Nate nodded and finished his glass of whiskey. Then he fished out another flash drive and dropped it onto the table. Kovski snatched it up and plugged it into the computer pulling up the information.

"This has a password on it."

"Indeed it does. One I will give you once I have left the grounds."

"I don't think so Ford…" Kovski said lifting the gun again and pointing it at Nate and sliding a bullet into the chamber.

"You pull the trigger and you will never get that password." Nate said showing no fear at all. He had expected this. He had actually not expected to get out of this alive but they needed the information. If Sophie died, then Eliot would avenge her and get Rudgar, if she lived then he would have the means to protect her. He had no doubt Hardison would be able to track them now that he had a number and names. He doubted that Rudgar was using an alias, he had no reason to.

"Fine…" Kovski said. Juri escort him off the property. The unsaid portion was 'then kill him' although Nate knew that was what the plan was.

Juri nodded and motioned Nate to get up. He ushered Nate out of the house and to the car he had come in. Nate climbed into the drivers' seat with Juri behind him. They drove to the gate and then Nate felt a tap on his shoulder as he pulled up outside the gate. Nate waited until Juri was out the car and standing beside his window. He told Juri the password and then dropped his foot on the accelerator just as Juri opened fire.

"Nate…Nate…" Eliot said through the earbud after hearing the shots. "Dammit Nate speak to me."

Nate had pulled away just as the shots were fired. He felt a slight burn as a bullet entered his body but he ignored the pain sending the car speeding down the road. Then he heard Eliot's voice mixed with the Hardison's and Parker's.

"Just take care of Sophie you hear me Eliot…get Rudgar and take care of Sophie…" Nate said as he felt himself getting woozy from blood loss. He sped his car through the streets aware that he was being followed. Seeing a police car a little way ahead Nate sped up again strapping himself into the seat. He could feel that he was not going to be conscious for much longer and aimed the car for the police vehicle.

"Nate…Nate…" Eliot called through the earbud as Nate smashed into the police vehicle. His head hit the airbag which had deployed on impact and then there was just blackness.

"Nate…talk to me Nate…" Eliot repeated but was met with dead air. The earbud had been dislodged with the violence of the crash, even if it had been Nate was no longer conscious.

"Nate…" A weak voice called out causing the three of them to turn towards the bed to find Sophie staring at them. "Where is Nate?" She asked trying to push herself up in the bed.

"Easy Sophie…" Eliot said quickly making his way to her side and putting a hand on her arm. "Nate's find…he's fine…" He said.

He could see Sophie did not believe him and he could see the fear in her eyes. Sophie wanted to tell him he was lying, she wanted to know where Nate was and fear overwhelmed her but the darkness was pulling her back down and although she fought it her eyes fell closed and she disappeared back into unconsciousness.

"Damn you Nate…" Eliot said softly as he straightened the blankets and made sure Sophie was tucked in.

"What now?" Hardison asked completely confused as to how to feel. Nate could be dead. Sophie was still not out of the woods. What did they do now?

"Now you find Rudgar with the information Nate managed to get for us." Eliot said. "Parker where are you going…?" He said as the little Thief moved towards the door.

"I'm going to find Nate. You take care of Sophie, you don't need me. Hardison will find Rudgar and we can track him then. Then we will take him out before he can do anything else. Nate needs me more now…"

"Ok…" Eliot said. "Just take care and keep the coms in."

"Find them Hardison…" Parker said kissing the Hacker before leaving the room.

Eliot watched her leave and then looked over to Hardison who had already pulled out his laptop and was doing his thing. He looked down at Sophie who lay still on the bed. Her heart beat and increased a little but not abnormally. He could only imagine what was going on in her head. If she thought Nate was in trouble that could only harm her recovery. What the hell was the Mastermind thinking? He had to admit that it was a daring plan, a plan that led to them getting information that would no doubt lead them to the men who were after them. But at what cost…? Well it was done now. All he could do was wait for Hardison to come up with something and wait for word from Parker on Nate's condition. He sat down beside Sophie and closed his eyes. He sighed deeply and shook his head as he thought about the last weeks and what was still to come.

**So is Nate alright? Will Hardison find the Milliards? What are Rudgar and his son planning to do next? Thanks again for all the great reviews. **


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"She's still alive." Rudgar said with disgust. "What does it take to kill these people?"

"Ford went to New York…I think he went to Kovski." Samuel told his father with a worried tone.

"Kovski would never give us up son. He knows the penalty for that." Rudgar said.

"So what do we do now father?"

"Those three have the hospital sealed. I doubt we could get to the woman now."

"So we wait?"

"We wait." Rudgar agreed. "At least for her…the man Ford, you say he is in New York. He is alone, isolated, we take him first."

"I will arrange the travel." Samuel said without questioning his father's wisdom. He still felt that they should just leave, Archie was dead, this was his vendetta not theirs, but his father was set on killing the woman, and the man Ford, and Samuel would follow his father to the end. This Ford was cleaver and obviously a hard man to bring down. His team were obviously the best at what they did, the fact that they had found them and then got the woman and Ford out alive was proof of that. He was afraid his father was blind to the obvious dangers involved with the venture they now undertook on behalf of his dead uncle.

"Yes, you do that son, I will contact Kovski and find out what Ford wanted and where he went after he saw him." Rudgar said. He was not a hundred percent sure Kovski had not told Ford anything about them, although he knew Kovski was afraid of the man who had instructed him to help them. If he had betrayed them, then he would suffer the same fate as Ford and the woman he would make sure of that.

"Kovski…" Rudgar said as the mobster answered his phone at the fourth ring.

"Milliard." Kovski replied. He was not looking forward to this conversation.

"I believe Mr Ford paid you a visit."

"He did. I told him nothing, in fact I believe he will no longer be a problem to you."

"Why is that?" Rudgar asked his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"I have had him eliminated." Kovski said. He had not had confirmation of that as yet, but Ford had been hit by Juri's bullet of that Juri was sure, and the crash was severe. His man had reported back that they were struggling to get Ford's body out of the mangled car and although his man could not get close enough to confirm Fords demise it was a sure bet, or so Kovski thought.

"You are sure of this?" Rudgar asked.

"He was shot and then involved in a serious car crash trying to get away from my man."

"But you are not sure he is dead?"

"No I have no confirmation as yet…but I will, nobody can survive all of that."

"Do not be so sure my friend." Rudgar told the man. "He has been thought dead once before. My son and I will be coming to New York. You will have a car to meet us at the airport. You will keep track of what is happening with Ford and you will take me to see his corpse if he is dead. If he is not, I may need some assistance to ensure that he meets his end."

"Consider it done." Kovski replied.

"Father our plane leaves in two hours."

Rudgar nodded and gave Kovski the flight number and approximate arrival time in New York. It was agreed that the car would be waiting for them to take them to the morgue to confirm Nate Ford's death.

Rudgar and Samuel were one of the first to board the plane, taking their seats in first class. The plane started filling up fast and then taxied towards the runway.

"Hardison…Hardison tell me you can still hear me…" Parker whispered.

"Hey girl…yeah but shouldn't you be on the plane already?" Hardison said surprised to hear Parker's voice.

"I am…and so are Rudgar and Samuel Milliard."

"What?" Hardison and Eliot said simultaneously.

"Rudgar and Samuel Milliard are on the plane." Parker repeated.

"Parker, you stay low. I take it they have not seen you?"

"No…" parker said softly.

"Ok…Ok…" Eliot said. "Parker you need to make sure they do not know you are on that flight."

"But this means they are going after Nate right?" Parker said.

"Yeah Parker, that's probably what they are doing."

"So…I can just…"

"No Parker. You can't take them on by yourself." Eliot said.

"Nate has been taken to Mercy General under police guard." Hardison said as the information came through.

"Why under police guard?" Parker asked alarmed. They were all wanted criminals and that did not sound very good to her.

"Because he crashed his car into a police car Parker, and he was shot so they are assuming he is a victim of crime and have put him under their protection. Or at least that is what the report said." Hardison explained.

"What condition is he in?" Eliot asked.

"I don't know, he is in surgery." Hardison said as he hacked into the hospital's records.

"Parker, Nate will be safe there at least for a while, especially with the police protection. You need to follow the Milliards…follow Parker, not try to take out you understand?" Eliot said.

"I could take them…?" Parker pouted.

"I'm sure Parker, but just watch them."

"Then what…?" Parker asked. "What if they go after Nate anyway?"

"Hardison is going to get me to New York on a chartered flight." Eliot said.

"I am? Oh yeah I am…" Hardison said immediately starting to organise it.

"You watch and wait Parker, I'm on my way." Eliot said. He did not like leaving Sophie but obviously she was safe for now. They were going after Nate and this was his chance to stop them for good. "Hardison…you take care of Sophie."

"Yeah…yeah…done man." Hardison said, obviously he was not going to have to defend Sophie on his own because the people who were after her were in New York going after Nate. "Ok your charter is waiting for you." He smiled at the Hitter.

"Thanks…Parker…wait and watch right." Eliot said.

"Right…" Parker said and he could actually hear the pout in her voice.

"I'll let you know when I am there." Eliot said as he turned and left the hospital.

**Thanks for the reviews. I am very happy that you are all still enjoying the story.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Parker's and the Milliards flight landed exactly an hour before Eliot's charter that Hardison had arranged. Eliot instructed Parker just to tail them and not to get to close.

Parker left the plane, keeping a low profile but trying to keep the two men in her sights at all times. They had a car and a driver waiting for them and Parker assumed it was sent by Kovski, she was proved right when she followed them until they turned into the driveway of Kovski's house. She informed Eliot what was happening and he instructed her to just wait for them to come out. Parker agreed and told the cab to just wait. The cab driver was more than a little intrigued by what was going on but as long he was going to get paid for the fare he really didn't mind. The Milliards left the house about fifteen minutes after they arrived, they were alone now but in the same car.

"They're leaving Eliot." Parker informed the Hitter.

"Ok just follow them Parker, I should be touching down in the next fifteen minutes or so, we can meet then." Eliot told her.

Parker told the cab to follow the car as it pulled out of the driveway. Ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the Mercy General Hospital.

"Hardison you said they took Nate to Mercy General right?" Parker asked.

"Yeah…" Hardison replied.

"Eliot they are at the hospital, they are going to make a run for Nate." Parker said quickly exiting the cab and paying him before turning towards the hospital and watching as the Milliards made their way to the entrance. "I have to stop them."

"No Parker…" Eliot said. "I'm nearly there, just hold off a few minutes, you can't take them both…"

"There is no time." Parker said shaking her head. She was not going to wait for Eliot when it may be too late. "Hardison, can you tell me where in the hospital Nate is?" Parker asked the Hacker.

"He's out of surgery, he's listed as critical and they have moved him to a private ICU room under police guard." Hardison informed her.

"Which floor…?" Parker asked as she made her way into the hospital making sure that she was not seen by the two men who were now at the reception desk.

"Parker I am landing now, I will be there soon, just watch them ok…Nate is safe at the moment." Eliot said and the anxiety in his voice was clear. He was afraid for Parker, and for Nate, as much as the police guard should help, they were no guarantee against the likes of the Milliards, especially with Samuel being able to pass as a doctor.

"He's on the second floor girl." Hardison told her.

Parker quickly made her way to the stairs and raced up to the second floor. She had seen the two men make their way to the elevator, she supposed they had also been told where to find Nate. She arrived on the second floor and located Nate's room. There was one police man sitting on a chair outside his room. She kept herself hidden from the officer and watched as the Milliards made their way towards the room as well. They stopped in front of the room and Samuel spoke to the officer, Parker could not hear what the man was saying but she could tell that whatever it was the officer was buying what he was selling.

"Eliot they are going for Nate…I'm going to stop them." Parker said as she saw the officer stand and open the door to Nate's room. She quickly made her way forward and called out to the officer.

"Don't let them in there, they are trying to kill that man." Parker said, her only hope was to cause some confusion on the part of the Police and the Milliards. Rudgar looked at her and she could see the recognition in his eyes.

"What is going on here, what do you mean by this young lady? This is Mr Fords personal physician Dr Samuel Milliard. Who are you..?" The officer said his hand going to his gun on instinct. Something was happening here and he was not sure what.

"I'm…I'm Nate's daughter and that is not his personal physician…he is with the men who tried to kill him earlier." Parker said, saying the first thing that came to her head.

"I know nothing about a daughter." The officer said looking slightly confused but closing Nate's door before Samuel could enter. "Dr Milliard?"

"Mr Ford has no children…this woman is lying. I don't know why she would do that, perhaps she was the one who shot him." Samuel said trying to sound innocent and confused. It was working the. The officer turned towards Parker and closed his hand around the butt of his gun.

"_I'm nearly there Parker…"_ Eliot's voice came through her earbud. _"Just stall…keep them talking."_

"You can call the Interpol Offices and ask for Agent Sterling…Nate has worked with him on cases…he is a consultant…they will tell you who I am…" Parker said trying to stall for time as she weighed up her options. Rudgar obviously had a gun, she could see the tell-tale bulge where it was holstered, Samuel did not need a gun to kill Nate, he probably had some poison or something. She had to stop them from getting into the room and stall until Eliot could get there.

The officer looked from Milliard to Parker. Interpol Agent, if Interpol was involved with this is changed things, and this doctor had a Russian accent…"I think I will do that." The officer said nodding as he pulled out his phone.

"_I got you covered Parker…"_ Hardison said quickly dialling the number for Sterling. If the officer called then Sterling had to know what was going on so he could back Parkers story up.

"I think Officer you are going to very slowly and very carefully hand your gun over to my son." Rudgar said as he moved quickly to stand behind the man pressing his own gun into his back.

"What…" The officer said taken by surprise.

"Do it now…" Milliard instructed. The officer swallowed hard and lifted his gun out the holster handing it over to Samuel.

"Now young lady if you do not wish this man to die, you will back away slowly…" Rudgar told Parker. "Samuel…"

"Hey what's going on here?" A nurse asked as she walked up to the group.

Parker used the slight distraction to jump forward towards Samuel. She hoped the officer would use the opportunity and take Rudgar out of the equation. The officer saw Parker move and threw his elbow back into the stomach of Rudgar cause him to stagger back into the wall. The officer turned around to face the man when a gunshot rang out and the officer staggered backward. Parker had leapt forward and applied her taser to Samuel when she felt somebody grab her and pull her bodily away from the young man. Rudgar grabbed her and flung backwards away from his son. The nurse screamed out and ran to the stricken officer who was now lying on the floor a puddle of blood forming under him. Rudgar made a move to open the door to Nate's room but before he could Parker threw herself at him jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck squeezing all her strength. He backed away pushing himself into the opposite wall smashing Parker into the wall and breaking her grip on him momentarily.

"Parker…I'm here…" Eliot said as he rushed into the hospital and up the stairs towards where Parker was fighting not only for her own life but for Nate's.

Parker hardly heard the man as she battled on with Rudgar. Samuel recovered from the shock of the taser and stood, pulling Nate's room door open and stepping into the room. Parker watched in horror as he moved to Nate's side and then was thrown against the wall again as she lost focus on her fight with Rudgar. That was when Eliot entered the fray. He saw Parker and was about to help her with Rudgar when he heard her terrified cry to him that Samuel was with Nate. Eliot raced passed and into Nate's room as Samuel pulled out a syringe. He reached out and grabbed the mans' arm before he could administer whatever the liquid was and swung him around. He threw a punch which sent the young man backward and into the machines that surrounded Nate's bed. Samuel came up again and stormed Eliot and they struggled with each other until Eliot stiffened and then crumpled to the ground.

"Samuel…we need to go…" He heard his father call. He looked at the man on the ground and then at the one in the bed.

"Next time…" He said and rushed out the room.

His father was standing holding his gun on the crowed of people who were now gathered. Parker lay unconscious against the wall of the corridor. For a moment everything was silent as everybody waited for the next instalment of the saga.

"_Parker…Eliot…dammit somebody tell me what is going on…"_ Hardison yelled. He could hear commotion and he could hear grunts and moans but neither of the two were answering him.

Samuel took the police man's weapon and turned it on the growing crowd. Then he and his father backed away towards the stairs.

"Anybody follows us and they are dead." Rudgar told them and then he and Samuel were through the doors to the stairwell.

Two of the security officers of the hospital quickly followed but stopped when they opened the door and were met with gunfire. The doctors and nurses gathered were more interested in the patients than the men that were getting away. A nurse went to Parker who was starting to stir. One of the doctors quickly made his way into Nate's room. He moved and dropped to his knees beside the stricken Eliot. He felt for pulse, it was weak and thready and the man's breathing was ragged. The doctor shouted out for a nurse and a crash cart.

Parker heard the Doctor's cry and pushed the nurse away from her struggling to her feet to staggered to the door of Nate's room. Her eyes immediately fell on the Mastermind but she could see no doctor around him. Then she saw the doctor kneeling over Eliot's prone form but before she could say anything she was pulled away as a swarm of medical personal entered the room. A doctor and a nurse started to check on Nate and the rest gathered where the first doctor was starting to do CPR on Eliot.

"_Dammit Eliot…Parker…what the hell is going on…?"_ Hardison's now panicked voice echoed in her ear.

"Eliot's down…I…I don't know…" Parker said trying to fathom what was going on. She had not heard another gunshot so Eliot could not have been hit, but why was he on the floor and why was the doctor calling for a crash cart?

"We are losing him…" The doctor said as they worked on Eliot. Parker's eyes were wide with fear as she was pulled further way from the room to make room for more personnel, the door to the room was closed.

"No I need to be with Eliot and Nate…I…"

"Miss, you are hurt and you can't help them right now. Let me take you into this room and have a look at you." A nurse said taking Parker's arm and leading her towards an adjoining room.

"No…"

"Miss please, let the doctors do their work and let me help you." The nurse said gently. Parker let the nurse lead her into the room and start to check her over. She had a gash on her forehead where Rudgar had hit her with the butt of his gun, which had rendered her unconscious. "That's going to need a few stitches…" The nurse said as she cleaned the wound out.

"Eliot…Nate…" Parker said plaintively not listening to the nurse. Her mind consumed by the sight of Eliot lying on the floor with a doctor trying to resuscitate him.

"Ok…ok I'll go and find out what is happening if you promise to stay here. I will come back right away and tell you what is happening with your friends and then we can get that wound cleaned and dressed. Is that a deal?" the nurse said looking at the woman and seeing the pure terror on her face.

Parker looked at the nurse and nodded slightly.

"Good. Now just stay here alright?" The nurse said and left the room to go and check on her patient's friends.

**What do you think happened to Eliot and is he going to be alright? What do you think Rudgar and Samuel's next move will be and will the team, now hurt and separated be able to stop them? Thanks for the reviews they are so greatly appreciated. I hope to get the next chapter out soon.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Hardison paced up and down the room trying to not let his emotions overcome him. Nate was in hospital, still in surgery, the woman he loved was tailing two men who were ruthless and will kill her without even thinking about it and Eliot was in the air unable to help anybody. They were divided and that was never a good idea in his opinion. Sophie was still unconscious and had not surfaced again since that brief moment earlier when she had asked for Nate.

"Nate…" Sophie's weak and pleading voice suddenly broke the silence and brought the Hacker to the woman's bedside.

"Sophie…Sophie it's me Hardison…" He said as he took her hand in his.

"Nate…" Sophie said again her eyes still closed but her eyes clenched together as if she was in pain.

"Sophie, I'm going to get the doctor…" Hardison said seeing her expression and thinking she was in difficulty.

"No…no don't go…" Sophie said gripping his hand tightly. She struggled for a few seconds and then her eyes fluttered open. "Hardison…" She whispered out.

"Yes it's me…" Hardison said smiling down at her.

"What…what happened?" She asked trying to get her bearings. "Where is Nate…?"

"He's…he's fine Sophie…"

"Don't lie to me." Sophie said. She knew Hardison very well and she could tell that the man was distraught and that Nate was definitely not ok.

"He's in New York."

"What…why?" Sophie asked alarmed that Nate was so far away from them. "Where are Eliot and Parker?" She asked now starting to realise it was only her and Hardison in the room.

"You were shot. A sniper shot you and you…you died and then…then they brought you back but Nate…well he went to try to find where we could find Rudgar and Samuel…he went to see Kovski in New York because he thought he would know where they were, he left us here and told us not to follow him but to look after you and then…then he was shot and in a car crash and Parker went to go and be with him and now she is on the same flight as Rudgar and Samuel who were also going to New York…now Eliot is on a charter flight to New York and Parker and the other two are about to land." Hardison said almost in one breath.

Sophie stared at him trying to digest everything the man had said. The only thing she could think of was that Nate was shot again. He had promised her he would not go and do something stupid and now he had been shot and involved in a car crash. He had done it again…he had run off and tried to play the hero, showing no concern for his own safety. She was angry at him and petrified for him at the same time. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths trying to calm herself down before she looked at Hardison again.

"How is he?" She asked softly.

"Still in surgery…" Hardison said.

"We have to…agh…" She finished off as she tried to push herself up in bed but felt a sharp pain in her chest and fell back on the pillows closing her eyes and trying to control her breathing and shut out the pain.

"Don't do that Sophie…you were shot…you were badly hurt…You can't be doing that…please…" Hardison said taking her hand again and watching as she tried to control the pain.

Sophie opened her eyes and stared at the young man. She could see the fear in his eyes, he was starting to get panicked.

"Ok..Ok do you have contact with them?" She asked squeezing his hand gently,

Hardison nodded as he listened to Parker telling Eliot that she was getting off the plane and following the two men.

"Yeah, Parker just landed, she's following Rudgar." Hardison said.

"Let me have a com…" Sophie said.

"I…I don't have a spare here." Hardison said a little embarrassed by the situation. He had not thought of brining one to the hospital when Sophie had first been brought here and he had not left since. Parker and Eliot had taken his spares that he always had with him.

"Hardison…" Sophie said her tone telling him she did not believe him.

"I swear Mamma…" Hardison said apologetically.

Hardison pulled up a chair and sat beside Sophie telling her everything that was happening step by step.

"I got you covered Parker…" Hardison said when he heard her talking to the Milliards and the Officer and mentioning Sterling. He pulled out his phone and dialled the Interpol Agents number.

"Sterling…"

"Hardison to what do I owe this dubious pleasure…?" Sterling said recognising the voice immediately.

"Nate is in trouble and Parker…" Hardison was interrupted as all hell broke loose in his earbuds. He dropped the phone and shouted into the com for Parker to talk to him. Then he heard Eliot say he was there and then there was gunfire. Hardison was nearly beside himself and Sophie was anxiously watching the Hacker and knew there was something terribly wrong.

"Parker what is going on…" Hardison pleaded as if to nobody.

"_Eliot is down…I…I don't know…"_ Her voice came back to him and then silence again.

"Parker…Parker…" Hardison almost shouted.

"Hardison what is going on…what is happening?" Sophie asked anxiously.

Hardison looked at her and shook his head.

"I don't know…Parker said Eliot it down…I don't know…there was gunfire and…" Hardison took a deep breath trying to control the panic that was rising in him.

"Dammit Hardison calm down and tell me what is happening." Sophie said harshly.

"I…I don't know…"

"Hardison…Sophie…will one of you two talk to me please…" Sterling's voice emanated from the phone that Hardison had dropped onto the bed.

Hardison stared at the phone looking as if he did not know what to do. This was his one downfall and the reason Nate knew he would not be able to lead a team just yet. He panicked when things went wrong and people were getting hurt. The woman he loved was in danger, possibly hurt and he was far away and that was killing him. Eliot was down, Nate was down, those were the two he relied on to tell him what to do, to calm him down and focus him.

"Hardison…" A voice cut through his frazzled mind. "Hardison give me the phone."

Hardison looked up into Sophie's eyes and nodded. He reached out and handed her the phone.

"Sterling are you still there…?"

"What the hell is going on Sophie…?" Sterling asked relieved to hear her voice.

"I am not sure. Where are you now and how fast can you get to New York…just hold on…" Sophie said lowering the phone. "What hospital Hardison?" She asked.

"Mercy General." Hardison immediately responded.

"How fast can you get to Mercy General Hospital in New York?" She asked Sterling.

"Why?" Sterling asked without answering her.

"Nate is hurt, Eliot is down and Parker may or may not be hurt as well, they need your help." Sophie said quietly and calmly.

Sterling took a moment to digest that and then told her that he could be there in less than three hours.

"Good. It will take us a little longer to get there but we will meet you at the hospital." Sophie told him. "Please…please make sure that Nate…that they…"

"I'm on my way, I'll take care of it until you arrive." Sterling assured her. This was not the first time they had had contact with each other since he had let Nate go after they stole the Black Box. He had called on Nate to help him out on a few cases, and even the whole team once ,on a very difficult and dangerous take down. They had a very, well strange relationship Sterling had to admit, but still, if he was in trouble he knew he could call on Nate and now Nate needed him and he would be there.

"Thank you." Sophie simply said then hung up the phone and looked at Hardison.

"Hardison…Alec…get me my clothes then arrange for a flight to New York.

"No Sophie you can't…"

"Just do it Alec, I'll be fine." Sophie said softly pushing herself further up in the bed and ignoring the searing pain that came with it. She would make it to New York if it was the last thing she did. Nate and Eliot were down, Parker…well who knew what was going on with Parker because she was not talking at the moment. Hardison could tell she too was hurt though, through the sound on the coms. They needed her, they all needed her and she would be there for them.

"Alec listen to me…We are a team. We work best when we are together, they have divided us and they are winning. We can't allow that." Sophie said calmingly. "Now Sterling is going to get there and try to sort things out, he'll be there in three hours. Now get my clothes and then make the arrangements for the charter."

Hardison did not say anything, he did not argue, he pulled her clothes out the cupboard and then moved outside telling a nurse to go and help her before starting to arrange a medical charter, if Sophie was going to insist on going to New York, he was going to insist they take all the precautions with her moving as they could. Once that was done he quickly arranged transport for her from the hospital to the airport and then from the airport in New York to the hospital. He could not take care of any of the others but he could make sure Sophie was taken care of. She was right though. They were best when they were together. Nate went off on his own and look what happened. Eliot down, Parker hurt…no Sophie was right, they needed to be together, only together could they beat these guys.

**Thank you all again for the great reviews, it really means a lot to me to know what my readers think about the chapter. **


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Sterling arrived at the hospital just over three hours later. He found the hospital in lockdown and the floor where the incident had taken place completely closed off. He presented his credentials to the Captain from the local precinct who was in charge of the situation.

"What has Interpol got to do with this?" The Captain asked as he handed Sterling's badge back to him.

"That is classified." Sterling told him and ignored the look on his face. "What happened here, I thought you had Mr Ford under protection?" Sterling said having pulled all the information he could on what had gone down to get Nate into a hospital.

"He was shot and crashed into one of our patrol vehicles..."

"Yes I know that." Sterling interrupted him with disdain. "I want to know what his condition is now as well as the man and woman who were involved in the incident."

"Ford is still in critical condition, the doctors are not sure if he will make it. It appears what happened was two men, as yet unidentified came to finish the job they had started on him. This another man and woman interjected stopping them from completing the job. The man, also as yet unidentified, was injected with something, the doctors are still trying to determine what, the girl sustained some injuries but not serious. We found these on the man and the woman…" The Captain said handing over an evidence bag with two earbuds in them. "The two men entered, the one introduced himself at the reception as Samuel Milliard, personal physician of Mr Ford and was told where to go to see him. When he got to the room the witnesses said they approached Officer Pierce who was on duty outside Mr Ford's room. As he was about to show them into the room a woman appeared and a confrontation between ensued, a Nurse interrupted it and then the other man appeared. Officer Pierce was shot and then according to witnesses all hell broke loose. One of the men, the younger one got into Mr Ford's room but was stopped from finishing Ford off by the third man. Now I don't know what is going on here, I don't know why Ford is wanted dead and I don't know who these first two people where. You may say this is classified, but I have to go and tell Officer Pierce's wife that he will not be coming home so I would appreciate it if you would tell me just what the hell is going on here."

"As I said classified…" Sterling said in his usual superior manner, ignoring the scowl on the man's face. "I am sorry about your man." He said his voice softening a bit. "I need to speak to the woman, where is she?"

"We have her upstairs locked down in one of the rooms. We have closed down that part of the hospital completely.

"Good. Let's go then shall we…" Sterling said looking at the Captain and waiting for him to lead the way.

Captain John Flanagan stared at Sterling and then turned on his heal, he instructed his man not to let anybody else up and then he and Sterling entered the elevator and made the trip to the second floor. On exiting the elevator Sterling immediately noticed the large blood stain on the floor outside the room he assumed belonged to Nate, that must be where the officer died he thought.

"She's in that room…" Flanagan said pointing to the room three doors down.

"Good. I'll speak to her alone. I will also need to speak to the doctor in charge of Nate and Eliot." Sterling said as they walked to the room and waited for the officer to unlock it.

"I'll call him." the Captain said.

As much as the Captain resented the intrusion of the man and as much as Sterling's attitude irked him he knew he was outranked by the man. Sterling nodded and then turned to the officer who guarded the door. He raised his eyebrows at him and waited. The Captain nodded at him and he turned and opened the door.

Sterling stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Sterling…how are Nate and Eliot?" parker said rushing towards him as he closed the door.

"Parker…I don't know…" Sterling said looking the woman over as she came to stand in front of him. "Are you alright?"

"Fine…they won't tell me about Nate or Eliot…and I need to know…I would escape but I need to know…" Parker said rambling slightly and pacing rapidly up and down in front of Sterling.

"Parker…Parker…" Sterling said catching her on one of her passes. "Just slow down ok…I don't know what is going on with them but I will find out. Sophie asked me to come and make sure you guys were ok, she said she would meet us here."

"Sophie…" Parker said stopping dead at the mention of the woman's name. "She's awake?"

"What do you mean…?" Sterling asked surprised at the question.

"Sophie was shot…she was unconscious when I left…"

"Wait what?" Sterling asked shocked. Sophie had not said anything about that.

"Parker I need to know what is going on if I am going to help you." Sterling said. He was now completely confused, just who was after the Leverage team, and why?

"First I need to know about Nate and Eliot…" Parker told him crossing her arms. She did not trust Sterling, maybe he was here to catch them all now that they were vulnerable.

"Ok…well I have asked for the doctor who is treating them." Sterling said opening the door to be faced with the Officer on guard and the Captain who was waiting for Sterling to finish questioning Parker. "Is the doctor here?"

"Yeah…" Flanagan said and motioned to the doctor to come over to them.

"Doctor…what are the conditions of Nate and Eliot?" Sterling asked as the doctor walked over to them,

"Well Mr Ford is still in critical condition. His injuries were severe, we removed the bullet and repaired the damage done, however he lost a lot of blood and he was in a weakened condition from previous recent injuries. He also sustained a blow to his head in the crash. He is still unconscious. As for the second man…Eliot…well we have him stabilised, however he is on full and on life support, his organs are shutting down one by one. We need to find out what he was injected with which we are working on as we speak. Until we can determine what poison he was given we cannot help him. His condition is critical and I am afraid he will die if we are not able to determine what medication to use to counteract the poison within the next few hours." The doctor told him succinctly.

"I see. So moving them is out of the question I take it?" Sterling said.

"If you are going to move them, then I would say that they only place they are going to is the morgue." The doctor said dryly.

"Thank you doctor..." Sterling said not liking the man's attitude.

"So what now…?" The Captain asked looking at Sterling.

"We keep this section sealed off. I want added protection brought in, but no contact with any of these people, they are in protective custody. I want your men to stay clear of them. There will be two other people coming here, they are to be allowed through, Alec Hardison and Sophie Devereaux, nobody else in or out understood." He said to the Captain and then turned to the doctor. "Doctor, anything you need, you just ask for." Sterling said ignoring the looks from the Captain. "This is under Interpol jurisdiction now."

"Yeah, well one of mine is down and we will see just who's jurisdiction this is under…" The Flanagan said heatedly. "We take care of our own."

Sterling watched the man storm away and then sighed heavily. This was going to be tricky he thought pulling out his phone as he moved away from the group to make a call.

"Excuse me I have to make a phone call." He said as dialled the number of his boss.

"Can I see them?" Parker asked the doctor as Sterling stepped away.

"Yes…but only for a few minutes." The doctor told her. He did not understand what was going on, all he knew was that he had had to clear a whole ICU floor and that was causing mayhem in his hospital and endangering his other patients.

Parker nodded and moved past him into Nate's room first. She walked in and saw Nate for the first time. He looked pale and fragile. His complexion was white and when she reached out and took his hand it was cold and lifeless. She swallowed hard and patted his hand but said nothing. Then she turned and left the room making her way to Eliot's room. The Hitter was lying on the bed with monitors surrounding him. The swoosh of the ventilator was the only sound in his room, aside from the steady beat of the heart machine. She had never seen him so helpless and the sight brought unexpected tears to her eyes as she took his hand in hers.

"You can't die Eliot…you hear me…you can't die…" She whispered.

She pulled up a chair and sat down beside the Hitters bed. She wished she could be with both Nate and Eliot at the same time but she couldn't and right now it seemed to her that Eliot needed her more. That was where Hardison found her a couple of hours later.

"Hey girl…" Hardison said as he walked into the room. He had taken Sophie to Nate's room and left her there with Sterling before going in search of Parker.

"Alec…" She said happily running to the man and throwing herself into his arms and squeezing tightly.

"Hey…hey girl…" Hardison said running his hand through her hair as he squeezed her right back. "It's ok…everything is going to be ok…" He said tears pricking his eyes as he looked over Parker's shoulder at the still form of Eliot. "Everything's going to be ok…"

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know that some of you want more Nate and Sophie and I promise it is coming. Thanks for all the reviews, I know I keep repeating myself but I really do appreciate every single one of them.**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Hardison and Sophie arrived at the hospital to be escorted up to the floor Nate and the others were on.

"Sophie what happened?" Sterling said as the exited the elevator, Hardison pushing her along in a wheelchair.

"I was shot." Sophie told him and then asked where Nate was not going into details.

Sterling wanted to know the whole story but something in Sophie's eyes told him that he would get nothing out of her until she had seen Nate.

"He's over here." Sterling said leading them towards Nate's room.

"Parker, where are Parker and Eliot?" Hardison asked. As much as he was concerned with Nate, his priority was Parker.

"In the room over there…" Sterling told him indicating the room that was allocated to Eliot. "I'll take Sophie, you go to her."

Hardison nodded and touched Sophie lightly on the shoulder before darting off in the direction of the room Sterling had indicated. Sterling moved in behind Sophie and pushed her towards Nate's room.

"How is he?" Sophie asked quietly. She knew he was in bad shape but she did not know the full details. "And Eliot…?"

"Nate is still unconscious. He took a serious hit to the head in the crash and the doctor said he lost a lot of blood, more than he could afford considering his recent other gunshot. Eliot…well they are trying to determine just what was in the syringe, what he was injected with. They have tried various kinds of medication to counteract the poison but, well none of it is working as yet…It doesn't look good…for either of them." Sterling said in his usual non tactful way. "Just what the hell is going on Sophie?"

Sophie did not answer him as they moved through the door and into Nate's room. Sterling heard a slight gasp as she took in the sight of Nate lying on the bed surrounded by machines and looking as white as the sheets he lay on. She pushed herself up and out of the chair with great effort and stepped towards the bed almost falling over as she did. Sterling was immediately at her side holding her up and helping her to Nate's side.

"Nate…oh Nate I am so sorry…" Sophie said as she put her hand on his forehead and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his lips. She felt tears prick at her eyes as she felt the coldness of his lips and when she took his hand it was limp and lifeless.

"I think you should sit down before you fall down Sophie…" Sterling said having retrieved the wheelchair and coming up behind her.

"This is all my fault…" Sophie said the situation overwhelming her.

"Sophie…you need to tell me what is going on if you want help. Who are these Milliard people, why are they after you and Nate?"

Sophie took a deep breath and then looked up at Sterling who had moved to stand on the other side of Nate's bed.

"A long time ago…I…well I helped a man named Michael Carrington, he worked for MI5 and he was tracking a traitor. Well we were in Berlin and I had managed to get close to Lord Massey as Michael had requested. Then Massey was killed in a car accident trying to get away, only he wasn't, he had been taken into custody by the British Government and was held captive until his escape. He was the one who came after me and Samuel and Rudgar Milliard were helping him. Nate rescued me from Massey and in the process was almost killed, we got away but in order to save Nate, we had to let them go. We thought that was the end of it, but then they shot me and Nate came here trying to get information about the Milliards from Kovski…"

"The head of the Russian Mob…?" Sterling asked interrupting her story.

Sophie nodded and looked at the Mastermind.

"Yes…stupid, stupid man…" Sophie said squeezing his hand which she had been holding in hers. "Anyway, Kovski tried to kill Nate after he had forced him to give us the information. We did not even know their last names until then. Nate managed to escape but…well …"

"Yeah not a clean getaway…" Sterling said looking down at the man in the bed. "Then the Milliards came after Nate to try to finish the job and Parker and Eliot interfered."

"Yes." Sophie said.

"How did they know where he was?"

"They also went to see Kovski, he must have steered them this way. Kovski is helping them, giving them resources and, well he provided the sniper that put a bullet in me."

"If you did not know who they were, how the hell did you know they had been to see Kovski after Nate was taken out?"

"Parker happened to be on the same plane as them to New York…" Sophie explained. "Just blind luck, but if it wasn't for that, Nate may well be dead now."

Sterling nodded as he processed all of the information. He did not say what he thought, that Nate may very well die anyway, as may Eliot. He had often wondered when one of the teams past would come out of the shadows to haunt them, although to be honest he thought it would be Eliot's and not Sophie's. What was the woman thinking playing 007….? Then he looked up at Sophie, there was one player she had not mentioned again.

"What about this Massey person."

"I don't know. He was the one who started all of this but he was dying, maybe he did die and they are just finishing the job for him."

"Well whoever is calling the shots is good…and determined." Sterling said. He looked at the Grifter and could see that she was very near collapse. "I am going to get the doctor to come and look you over, you don't look too well."

"I'm fine…" Sophie replied.

"I very much doubt that." Sterling said pursing his lips together. "You just stay here and I'll get the doctor."

"I need to see Eliot."

"Parker and Hardison are with him and there is nothing you can do for him right now. Just stay here with Nate and let's have you checked out, then we need to come up with some sort of plan. I am on thin ice here and I don't know how long I can keep the local law enforcement out of this, one of their own was killed during the attack." Sterling said. "Sophie, he's the most stubborn man alive, and he is still alive." He said meaningfully then left her alone with the Mastermind as he went to call the doctor.

Sophie watched him go and then turned her attention back to Nate.

"I am very angry with you Nathan Ford." She whispered to him. "You promised me you would not do this again, you said you would stop trying to get yourself killed…you promised." She said tears now flowing down her cheeks. "I should never have involved you, I should have just left and disappeared…I should have just…just let…" She bowed her head resting it on Nate's hand which she still clutched in hers. "If you die, if Eliot dies…I will never forgive myself."

Just then she was interrupted as Parker burst into the room followed by a beaming Hardison.

"They found it…they found whatever it was that they injected him with and he's going to be ok, they said it should work quickly and he will wake up in a little while…" She said bouncing up to Sophie. "Eliot's going to be ok…" She said again and then looked over to Nate and her face darkened again. "So is Nate…" She said but this time her voice betrayed uncertainty.

"That is great news Parker." Sophie said smiling at the woman. She was happy that Eliot was going to recover, but her main concern was Nate and from what Sterling had said, the doctors were not so sure he would be alright.

"You don't look so good Sophie…" Parker said with concern as she came closer to the woman.

"I'm fine Parker…why don't you go and sit with Eliot again, I am sure he would like you two to be there when he wakes up." Hardison nodded and took Parker's arm pulling her along with him. He could see Sophie wanted to be alone with Nate. "Tell him I'll be there in a little while to see him when he wakes up." She called after them.

"Sophie…" Sterling said as he re-entered the room with a doctor in tow. "This is Doctor Jason Jafter, he is taking care of Nate and Eliot and now you. Dr Jafter, this is Sophie Devereaux, she has a gunshot wound."

"Ms Devereaux…" The doctor said walking up to Sophie.

"Doctor…how is he?" She asked looking at Nate.

"He is holding his own for now. But let's have a look at you shall we, can you tell me about your injury." The doctor told her.

"I'm fine…" Sophie said shaking her head slightly.

"Ms Devereaux…"

"Sophie…"

"Sophie, I can see that you are not fine, in fact I would say you are far from it. Now the young man who accompanied you left this with my nurse." The doctor said holding up a file. "The treating physician at the hospital in Portland was none too happy with you leaving the way you did. Luckily your friend got your records and brought them along for me. So I am afraid I am going to insist that you allow me to examine you. Your doctor also recommended that I continue with the intravenous antibiotic regime he had you in Portland. I have had a nurse prepared a room for you, please you cannot do him any good if you collapse yourself." The doctor said.

Sophie looked over at Nate and then squeezed his hand gently. She knew the doctor was right.

"I'll take care of him, he is in good hands Sophie…" Jafter told her seeing the hesitation in his eyes.

"Sophie you know that Nate's main concern is you. You need to look after yourself." Sterling said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Fine…" Sophie said. "But the minutes he wakes up…"

"You will be the first." Sterling promised her.

"Good." Jafter said taking the handles of the wheelchair.

"What…" Sophie said pushing herself up and out of the chair. She leaned over Nate and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I am just in the other room my darling, please, please wake up soon my love. God I am so sorry Nate…so very sorry." She whispered to him kissing him again. Then she sat back down in the chair with the help of Sterling.

"He's going to be alright, right doctor?" Sophie said as Sterling pushed her towards the door with the doctor leading the way. "I need to know the truth."

"Sophie…"

"Please…" She said interrupting him.

"He took a very serious hit to the head. His blood loss was large and he was weak from his previous injuries." Jafter said.

"So he's not going to be alright…?" Sophie said her voice hitching with emotion.

"I can't say. At the moment he is in limbo, to be honest it could go either way, it's up to him."

"Then I can't leave him. He has to know I am here, he has to know he must fight, I can't leave him."

"Sophie…"

"No. You can put a bed in here if you want to but I am not leaving him." She said firmly.

"Sophie…" A weak voice muttered from the bed.

"Nate…" Sophie cried out and tried to get out of the chair but fell back. Her strength was drained. Sterling swung her around the pushed her back to Nate's side. "Nate…" Sophie called again taking his hand. It was still limp and cold, she squeezed it expecting something in return but got nothing and Nate was silent again. "Nate please, I'm here…" She begged him.

"Ok…I'll organise a bed for you…" Jafter said watching the scene and realising that he was not going to pry the woman away now.

"I think that would be the best idea." Sterling agreed thinking the same thing as the doctor was.

"Nate…I'm here, I'm here my love…" She said softly as she rubbed his hand between hers.

**Thanks again for all the reviews. Lulu, I promise there is still a lot of Nate and Sophie to come. So is Nate waking up? When and how do you think the Milliards will come after them again? Glad you are all still enjoying the story.**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Sophie was soon ensconced on a cot beside Nate's bed and within an hour was asleep. Three hours after Sophie and Hardison's arrival found Eliot, Sterling and the two youngest members of the team sitting outside Nate's room in the waiting area discussing what could be their next move.

"So what's the next move?" Sterling asked the group. "The LEO's are getting antsy and wanting to get involved, one of their own was taken out and you know how they react to that. I don't think I can hold them off forever and need I remind you all that you have records hanging over you, and of course you used your own names so…"

"Yeah…" Eliot sighed, that was a mistake but one that they could not take back now. Even so Hardison had them covered and unless some overzealous cop dug deeper they should be ok at least for a while. The problem was there was bound to be one of those overzealous lot involved here considering the circumstances. "The trouble is with Nate in the condition he is, we have no choice but to stay here for a while longer."

"Do you think they will come after Nate and Sophie again here?" Parker asked looking at Eliot anxiously.

"No…I don't think they will try again here..." Eliot said with near certainty. "They'll wait…"

"And we have no idea where they are…" Sterling said looking at Hardison as if expecting the man to say something about him being able to track them and Sterling should have more faith and his favourite line…'Age of the Geek baby' but all he got was an apologetic and slightly embarrassed look from the Hacker.

"No…I have video of them leaving the hospital and driving out of the parking. I traced them a short distance on the traffic cams but then they disappeared…they dumped the car…"

"Yeah my people went over it, nothing that could tell us where they went. Car is registered to a Marvin Pollock, a known associate of Kovski." Sterling interrupted him.

"Right and considering that was from where they got the car that was no surprise." Hardison said nodding. "I have facial recognition but haven't been able to pick them up again, not on any of the camera systems I am linked too…"

"I thought you said that we were caught on camera's x number of times a day and now you are saying they have completely vanished from the face of the earth." Eliot said coming across a little harsher than what he meant to.

"Hey it's not Hardison's fault." Parker said immediately coming to the defence of the Hacker.

"No girl, Eliot's right…I should have been able to pick them up and track them but…well they are gone, like ghosts." Hardison said softly.

"Maybe they are at Kovski's house?" Parker offered.

"Could be…" Hardison agreed.

"In that case there is no way to get to them." Sterling said. "You know they are quite good at all this stuff too." Sterling said indicating the equipment Hardison had set up around them. "How do we know they are not watching us right now?" Sterling said looking up at the cameras placed in the corridors of the hospital.

"I disabled them." Hardison said following Sterling's train of thought. "They are not linked to the network or the security. Only I have access and we have company…" Hardison said watching three men enter the elevators on the ground floor then looking up at Eliot.

"The Milliards…?" Eliot asked immediately tensing up.

"I don't think so…more like law enforcement." Hardison said studying the men.

"Ok well let me deal with it." Sterling said as the elevator doors opened to let the three men out.

"Agent Sterling…" One of them said as they walked up to the group.

"That's me…" Sterling said standing up. "And you are…?"

"Agent Bordoli from Homeland Security, we will be taking over here."

"Now wait just a minute…" Sterling started to say but was interrupted by the man who held up his hand to silence him.

"Agent Sterling, this is an order from your boss for you to place yourself at our disposal in this case, and here is a warrant to take Alec Hardison, Eliot Spencer, Sophie Devereaux, Nathan Ford and one Parker into our protective custody." The man said handing him two pieces of paper.

Eliot, Parker and Hardison remained silent. Eliot knew all the escape routes from the building and had sized up the three men facing them. They were all armed but he was sure he could take them before they could get to their weapons, he knew both of his friends were also ready to bolt, the only thing holding them back from action was Nate and Sophie who were helpless in the other room.

"What interest does the CIA have in all of this?" Eliot asked taking all of them by surprise. From the moment the three men had approached them he had known at least one of them was CIA, by his walk and his stance. As he would say, it was very distinctive and he had had copious dealings with the agency in his time.

"Mr Spencer…" The tallest of the three men said stepping forward. "You are dealing with known terrorists that we have been tracking for a long time."

"And you are?" Eliot asked also stepping forward narrowing the gap between himself and the man.

"Agent Claude Rites…" The man said and Eliot tensed as he reached into his jacket pocket and took out his credentials. The man smiled at him noting the change in his posture and holding up his badge. "CIA…how did you know?"

"It's a very distinctive stance." Eliot replied simply. The man smiled again as he put away his badge.

"Where is Ms Devereaux?" Bordoli asked looking from Eliot to Sterling. "We need to question her on her links to Rudgar and Samuel Milliard."

"You mean on her links to Lord Archibald Massey." Eliot said and smiled to himself as he saw the man tense up and then relax again. This was about the Lord and what they had done to him all those years ago. He cast his eyes towards the third man in the group and suddenly realised they were not only dealing with the CIA but MI5 as well. This just got a lot more complicated he thought to himself.

"And what do you know of Lord Massey?" The third man of the group asked. He had a strong British accent and Eliot's suspicions were confirmed, the man was MI5.

"We know that the British 'took him into custody' in the eighties after faking his death, and we know that he blamed one of yours, Michael Carrington for it, and of course Sophie whom Carrington roped into helping him." Eliot said, it was best to get everything in the open he thought watching them closely. Eliot studied the man's reaction to his words and saw a shadow pass over his face; a shadow that Eliot knew did not bode well for any of their safety.

"I see." The man said simply offering nothing further. Eliot noted that he did not contradict him when he had implied that he was a British agent.

"Enough of this…Mr Spencer, Ms Parker and Mr Hardison, you will move into that room please and remain there until such time as we require your presence. We have secured the hospital and my men are placed at all the exits. I would urge you to comply without causing any trouble. We are here to make sure you are all safe, along with your two friends." Bordoli said nodding towards the room opposite Nate's. "Agent Sterling we need to question both Mr Ford and Ms Devereaux."

"That is going to be difficult…" Sterling said.

"We are aware of their condition Agent Sterling." Bordoli interrupted him. But it is imperative that we question them. I have instructed the doctor to reverse the drugs Mr Ford is on and bring him to consciousness. That will take some time I am informed, so we will question Ms Devereaux in the meantime."

"No." Eliot said bringing all eyes to him. "You can question Sophie, but it is dangerous to administer the drugs you are talking about to Nate, it could kill him." Knowing the drugs they were meaning to use on Nate to wake him up. He could not believe that the doctor would consent to using it.

"You over exaggerate my dear boy…" The MI5 man said softly. "I assure you all precautions will be taken in respect of Mr Ford's wellbeing, our doctors will take the utmost care." He said as the elevator door again opened to allow the entry of five more men.

At the same time a group of men exited the stairwell doors and one of them headed straight for the local police who were still guarding the premises. After a few words with them and flashing a badge the police men along with the others on the floor left, leaving only Bordoli's men behind to secure the floor. Eliot knew they were in trouble. These men had no concern for Nate or Sophie, and if read the situation right, none of them were going to walk away from this. It was a political embarrassment and if he read the situation right, and he was and these men had been sent here to make it disappear. Eliot looked over at the other two and saw the tenseness in them. To do anything now would be suicide though so he shook his head ever so slightly but enough for them to understand.

"Agent Sterling, I think it would be best if you joined them in the room, to watch over them as it were." Bordoli said but Sterling knew they wanted him out the way as well, they were not sure how much he knew but were sure it was more than he should. "Please would you all surrender your phones as well, for your own safety of course."

Hardison was about to object but Eliot nodded and handed his phone over, followed by Sterling and then reluctantly by Hardison and Parker.

"Thank you, we want to make this as painless as possible." Bordoli said. I am sure it will only be a matter of hours and then we will have settled the matter and you will be free to go.

All four of them looked at Bordoli with disbelieve. Did the man think they were fools? They were not leaving here, none of them were except in body bags and all of them knew it. Bordoli then nodded to a few of him men who ushered the group into the room he had indicated and locked the door after them.

"We have to get out of here." Parker said turning around as the key turned in the door.

"Yes…" Eliot said. They had to get out of here and he was sure they would be able to pull it off. They could get out, and they could probably get Sophie out with them, but Nate. Nate was not going anywhere. The fact was if they were to save Sophie and themselves, they were going to have to leave the Mastermind at the mercy of the men out there. It was not something Eliot even wanted to contemplate doing.

"You have to leave him." Sterling said as if reading the Hitters mind. "It is what he would do."

"No…" Parker said having come to the same conclusion as the two men and knowing what Sterling was asking them to do. "We can't. They will kill him."

"Parker if we stay here they will kill him anyway, and Sophie and probably all of us too." Eliot said. "We need to get Sophie away from here, she will be their main focus."

"You can't be serious…" Hardison said shaking his head. "You are asking us to abandon Nate and leave him here with those…those men. Well I won't do it." He said with finality in his voice. He would not abandon Nate to his fate, he would not do it, he could not do it. "Besides do you think Sophie is going to leave him behind?"

"No…not willingly…" Eliot said softly. "But it is what we need to do. I don't like it. You don't like it, none of us like it, but it is what we have to do."

"I won't…" Parker said feeling a knot tighten in her stomach. They were talking about leaving Nate behind to die and she did not think she could do that, even if it was the only way to secure Sophie and their safety.

"Do you think you can get her out?" Sterling interrupted the debate. "I mean that is a lot of men out there and they said they have all the exits covered."

Eliot looked over at Parker and then nodded. They had prepared for every contingency, well maybe not for this particular one involving these particular me, but they were ready. The hardest part would be getting too Sophie but they could do it. They could get her out, it would not be pretty and it would not be clean, but they could do it.

"Then do it. Go, I'll stay here and take care of Nate as much as possible, once you are out you can figure a way of getting us out too." Sterling said without hesitation.

"They don't trust you either Sterling, that's why you are in here with us." Eliot reminded him.

"Yes, but I am Interpol and making me disappear is not as easy as making you all disappear. I'll be fine." He said. "Besides, you will be coming back right?"

"No I…you can't ask me too…" Hardison said fighting the knowledge that it was the only thing they could do.

"Look Hardison, if you stay here, they are going to do whatever they do to Nate anyway, there is no way to stop it, you can't take over this facility. You can stop them from hurting Sophie and that is what you must do. Do you understand? It is the only thing you can do." Sterling said turning towards the Hacker and seeing the anguish on his face. It was a lot to ask, of any of them, to leave Nate here, perhaps to die at the hands of these men, but it was what had to happen.

"He will die." Parker said her voice suddenly cold and dark.

"Nate is a strong man, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure that does not happen, but if you stay…" Sterling said. "At the risk of repeating myself, he will die, so will Sophie and so will all of you. Now you get your plan together and you get yourselves and her out of here before they can do her any harm. All I want from you is a phone…" Sterling said. He had a few people he could call and he hoped that would put a spanner in the works, at least for a short while. "And you will have to be quick about it, because I don't think they are going to dally around."

Eliot looked at the Interpol man and nodded. Sterling was taking a big risk in staying, but he was glad the man had offered. He looked over at his two friends and saw the rebellion mixed with reluctant acceptance on their faces.

"Parker…" He said softly.

Parker stared at him for a moment then then moved. It was a matter of seconds and the woman was no longer in the room going through one of the vents. She knew her way around the vents, she had made sure she understood where each of them led. She would make her way over to Nate and Sophie's room and then wait for Eliot.

"Hardison…" Eliot said looking at the Hacker who still stood with his arms folded across his chest a look of pure agony on his face. Hardison looked back at the Hitter and their eyes locked for a second before Hardison closed his eyes and sighed heavily, he reached into his back pocket and removed a small device. He looked up at Eliot and the Hitter could see the anguish on his face as he held the device up.

Eliot nodded and walked over to the door and prepared himself. Then he gave Hardison the signal and as the Hacker hit the button Eliot burst through the door taking the two men stationed outside by surprise rendering them unconscious. He could hear the sirens blaring and could see that the men were focused on a danger coming from without and not them. He could see Bordoli and his friends on the far end of the corridor detailing men to secure the entrances to the floor and then looked over to see Parker appear in the doorway with Sophie slung over her shoulder. The four of them made a bee line for the chute.

Sterling came to stand between them and Bordoli and his men, shouting out that there was a fire and causing more confusion. He could only hope that the man would try to avoid gun play. Bordoli swung around in time to see Parker dart out of the room with Sophie and the four Leverage members head for the middle of the corridor. Bordoli pulled his weapon and aimed it at the group but just then Sterling appeared cutting off his line of fire. He cursed and leapt forward shoving Sterling out of his way but by then the corridor was empty.

"Get to the laundry bay…all agents get to the laundry bay." He shouted into his radio realising that the four of them had disappeared down the laundry chute. "Secure him now." He said to another agent pointing at Sterling who immediately threw his hands in the air looking as sheepish as possible. "And get that damned alarm turned off."

The agents got to the laundry bay in time to see Eliot's car disappear in a smoke screen of burning rubber.

"Sir they are gone." A voice came over the radio. "It looks like they had this escape route planned sir, they came down the chute and they had a car waiting." The agent said, he knew by the time they got to their cars their quarry wold be long gone.

"Dammit…" Bordoli said in frustration. "They are gone." He said turning to the two men who had first come with him.

"Then we have a serious situation." The man with the British accent said. "One none of our superiors are going to be happy about."

Eliot and the other three went down the chute landing on the soft linen that Parker and Hardison had placed there for such an occasion. Quickly Eliot gathered Sophie into his arms and got her into the car. He did not know why the woman did not wake up until he looked over at Parker who looked as guilty as hell and apologetic at the same time. She must have had to render the Grifter unconscious in order to get her out of the room.

"I'll never forgive myself if he dies…" Hardison said looking back at the disappearing hospital building as they sped away.

"She'll never forgive us…" Parker whispered looking at the unconscious Grifter.

**So they have escaped leaving Nate and Sterling behind. What will Bordoli do to the two men? What about the Millliard's? How do you think Sophie will react when she wakes up and realises what they have done? Thanks for the great reviews; they are as always greatly appreciated.**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Eliot drove them to Parker's warehouse. It was the safest place he could think of. It was not registered in her name, in fact he was not even sure in whose name it was registered in. It was also easily defendable if they did run into trouble and as Parker is, she had planned escape routes from the place and contingency plans for most if not all eventualities. He drove his car in and the doors were closed behind them.

"Let's get Sophie into a bed." He said as he stopped the car and climbed out lifting the woman from the back seat and carrying her over to the large bed in the middle of the cavernous space.

"They've shut off all the cameras." Hardison called as he immediately went to his consoles that he had set up in the warehouse. He had stayed here on more than one occasion with Parker. "We have no eyes or ears on the place."

"How is she?" parker asked anxiously as they made Sophie comfortable on the bed…I didn't mean to…to knock her out for so long I just, she wouldn't come with and..."

"It's ok Parker, you did what you needed to do and she is fine, she will maybe have a bit of a bruise and a sore jaw but she'll be fine."

"Besides…" Hardison said jointing them as they stood beside Sophie's bed. "That will be the least of our worries when she does wake up…you know she is gonna give us all kinds of hell for what we did."

"We all did what we had to." Eliot told him. "It was our only option."

"Yeah…good luck telling her that." Hardison said softly. "I'm going to try and see what is going on at the hospital. We need a plan Eliot, we need to tell her we have a plan when she does come round."

"I know…" Eliot replied. He had no idea what to do. The Milliards were missing and Hardison could not find them. They could be with Kovski and if so they were virtually untouchable. Nate and Sterling were in the hospital and it would be near impossible to get them out. They needed a plan, they needed a Mastermind and he was unavailable.

At the hospital Sterling had been locked into a small side room which had obviously been used as an office by the hospital staff. There were no windows and the door was securely locked. He pulled out the phone that Hardison had managed to get to him before their frantic escape and dialled a number. He had a plan, all he could hope to do was to slow them down, give Eliot and the others time to come up with a plan to get them out of this. To do that he would need to focus attention and distract Bordoli and his lot long enough to give them a chance, and he knew just the right person to do that.

Bordoli stood at the door of Nate's room watching as the doctor injected Nate with more medication.

"How long before he comes round?" Bordoli asked.

"I don't know. I have given him drugs to counteract the ones given being given to him to keep him in a sedated state and I have administered drugs that should bring him out quicker. I have warned you though that the chances of him suffering either cardiac arrest or stroke are magnified by these drugs, he may also suffer some permanent damage to his heart and other organs. Also he may not be coherent when he comes out, he will be disorientated and irritable of that I can assure you."

"Just do what you have to doctor." Bordoli said before returning to the waiting room to re-join Rites and the MI5 man.

"Doc said he would be out in a while." Bordoli said taking a seat in the waiting area with them.

"We can't stay here much longer. People are going to start asking questions, local PD and Interpol…" Rites said sipping his coffee.

"Do you think he has any relevant information? I mean our main aim was the woman, she was the one involved and we lost her." John Smythe-Jones MI5 said dryly. "I must tell you my superiors are not very pleased with that I can tell you."

Bordoli looked at the MI5 man. This was all the Brits' fault in the first place. If they had made sure this bloody Lord of theirs was neatly tucked away somewhere then none of them would be in this mess.

"Well if he can't tell us where Massey or the Milliards are, maybe he can tell us where his friends would have gone." Rites said.

Bordoli nodded and then looked up at one of his lieutenants who had come to stand beside him.

"What is it Roger?"

"Sir I think we might have a problem." Roger DeBrolio said quietly. "It seems somebody has said something to the press and they are down stairs demanding to see Nathan Ford and James Sterling. They know about the attack on Ford and the fact that one of the local PD officers were killed, they are demanding to know what Homeland Security has to do with all of this and why the this floor of the hospital has been quarantined. It's been screened live on an internet blog site and now local news networks are picking it up." He said walking over to a television set that was mounted to the wall in the corner and tuning it to the local news network Chanel Seven News.

"_We are here live at Mercy General Hospital where there has been a seeming hostage situation going on. Details are sketchy but we have been told by a reliable source that James Sterling a Interpol Agent and his friend Nathan Ford are being held on the third floor of this hospital by against their will."_

"Shit…" Bordoli swore as he watched the young woman. Quite a crowd had now gathered in the hopes of getting some kind of a story.

"_A source inside the local police have confirmed that there was an incident in the hospital involving Mr Ford earlier and that one of their own men who was on protective duty was killed. It has also been confirmed by this source that the New York Police Department were told that they no longer have jurisdiction in this case, by a man identifying himself as an Agent Bordoli from Homeland Security."_

"We are going to have to put a lid on this." Rites said standing beside Bordoli and watching the broadcast.

"And just how to you propose to do that my dear man?" Smythe-Jones asked. "It would appear that through your bungling we are on a very sticky wicket…"

Bordoli scowled at the British agent. "If you Brits had not bungled this from the beginning back in the eighties…"

"Enough…" Rites said. "We need to deal with this now. The question is what do we do with Sterling and Ford?"

"We need Ford, we need the information." Smythe-Jones said.

"Doctor is he awake…?" Bordoli asked as the doctor emerged from the room.

"No, I am afraid not yet, but he should start coming around shortly."

"Then he needs to be dead." Bordoli said an idea coming to him.

"Now wait just a minute…"

"Doctor, we need the information that man might, or might not have and as you can see, remaining here is not an option. Now I need this man declared dead and his body needs to be taken for examination to the FBI Pathologist. Do we understand each other?"

"Understood…" The doctor said sourly.

"What about Sterling…?" Rites asked.

"Ah yes, the good Interpol Agent." Bordoli sighed. "We take him with us."

"Where are we going?" Smythe-Jones asked raising an eyebrow at the Homeland Security man.

"You are going with our friend Ford there and taking a ride in the back of the ME's vehicle. We are going to soothe the angry beast out there."

"I see…" The man said nodding. "Well good luck with that old chap." He smiled. The press was never easy and he, being in the position he was never liked to be in any proximity to them. He was quite happy to accompany the Ford to wherever they were taking him. They needed to get out of this infernal hospital anyway, the publicness of the whole thing did not appeal to him.

"Watch closely Smythe-Jones you might learn how it's really done…properly." Bordoli said sarcastically to the man, bringing a scowl to his usually impassive face.

"Doctor, make a good show of it until we are gone." Bordoli told the man and then walked over to the room Sterling was locked in. He nodded to the doctor who had already disconnected all of Nate's machinery and had him loaded on to a gurney in a semi closed body bag.

Bordoli unlocked Sterling's door and threw it open. He found the man standing facing the door as if he was waiting for them to come.

"Agent Sterling, you are to accompany me to our offices in order for you to be debriefed. I would ask that you do not cause any kind of scene."

"What about Nate?" Sterling asked. Obviously his ploy worked they were moving them, but where to and what about Nate.

"I am sorry to inform you that Mr Ford died of his injuries a short while ago."

"You're lying." Sterling spat at him his heart sinking and a knot forming in his stomach. He was not sure if the man was lying. Nate was in bad shape and he knew they were giving him drugs and trying to bring him out of the medical 'coma' he had been placed in, he also knew from Eliot that that was dangerous in and of itself.

"I am afraid not Agent Sterling. Now if you will come with me please." Bordoli said showing him out the door.

Bordoli and Sterling walked down the corridor and passed by Nate's room in time to see the doctor close the body bag, with Sterling catching a glimpse of Nate's ashen face as he zipped it closed. Sterling's shoulders slumped and he sighed deeply as they passed and climbed into the elevator.

"Hey guys, something is going on." Hardison said as his web crawlers picked up on the broadcast. He pressed a button and the screen came alive with the image of Agent Bordoli, Sterling and Rites moving towards a crowd of reporters.

"Good day ladies and gentlemen, I am Agent Art Bordoli of Homeland Security. There was an incident where two people known to have ties to terrorist organisations attacked and tried to kill one of the patients here, in trying to do so he took the life of one officer of the New York Police Department. We were brought in to investigate the incident, after being called in to assist Interpol with whom the man concerned was working closely with in this case."

"I was told that a Nathan Ford was being held here against his will along with an Interpol Agent James Sterling." The woman from Channel Seven News said.

"Mr Ford was the man who was attacked by these men, presumably because he had discovered their identities and whereabouts while assisting Agent Sterling here in his investigations on behalf of Interpol. First on the road, being shot and then crashing into a police vehicle, which brought him to the hospital and then again here in this hospital. At that time the officer who was assigned to protect Mr Ford was slain during that indecent."

"Are you saying this was an act of terrorism?" Karen Biggilo a friend of Sterling's and the one he had called in order to create this scene asked. She could see Sterling and could see by the look on his face that something had gone horribly wrong. "Agent Sterling do you have any comment?"

"I have no comment at this time." Sterling said sourly as he felt the press of a weapon into the small of his back. He looking at her then and nodded slightly, she would know what to do he was sure. Karen could see the despair in his eyes and wondered what had happened between his phone call to her and now. Whatever it was he was in trouble and so was his friend.

"What is Mr Ford's condition now?" Another reporter called out before she could press the issue.

"I am afraid he has succumbed from his injuries, things brings to two the number of people these men are responsible for killing." Bordoli said. "Now please could you let us do our work we, that is Interpol and Homeland Security will be working tirelessly until these men are apprehended and made to pay for their crimes."

"Oh No…" Parker said her hand flying to her mouth as she listened to Bordoli tell them and the world that Nathan Ford was dead.

"What the hell…" Hardison said not wanting to believe what he heard.

Eliot remained silent his eyes fixed on Sterling. He could see the slope of his shoulders and the dejected look on his face, he believed Nate was dead. Damn it he should never have left him there, he knew what those men were going to do and he still left him behind. Fury raged inside the Hitter as he watched the car carrying Bordoli and Sterling alone with Rites away. He would not rest until they were brought down he swore softly to himself.

**Thanks for the reviews…they are much appreciated. Does Sterling really think Nate is dead? Will he be able to let the team know what happened? What do you think they are planning to do with him? What will the team do now and how do you think Sophie will take the news?**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Parker sat resting her head on her hands on the end of the bed. She kept her eyes glued on the woman lying in the bed waiting for her to wake up. It had been twenty minutes since the news report of Nate's death. Eliot had disappeared into a dark corner of the warehouse needing to be alone for a time and Hardison was online trying to figure out exactly what was happening.

"Parker…?" Sophie's voice broke the silence as she woke.

"I'm sorry…" Parker said immediately sitting up and staring at Sophie as she pushed herself up in the bed wincing slightly as she did, as much from the fact that her body hurt from the gunshot wound she had suffered as from the headache and saw jaw she had from the punch Parker had knocked her out with.

"Sorry…what…" Sophie said slightly confused as she looked from Parker to Hardison who had come to stand behind the woman and then taking in her surroundings. "Where are we…what happened." Sophie said trying to remember what had happened, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep next to Nate in a hospital room. How did they get from the hospital to here and why was Parker sorry and who had hit her, she wondered as her hand came to her jaw touching it tentatively. "Where is Nate?" She asked seeing Eliot walking towards the group out of the darkness but not seeing Nate anywhere.

"He's…" Hardison said and then stopped. How did he tell her he was dead, never coming back, that they had left him to die, knowing what those men intended to do they had left him.

"He's what…" Sophie said pushing herself further up in the bed and ignoring the pain. Something was very wrong. "He's what Hardison?" Sophie almost shouted at him.

"He's dead." Eliot said.

"No…" Sophie said shaking her head. No it was not true. "No…" She said again looking from one to the other.

"Sophie…we…he…we…"

"We had to get you out of there because they were going to…they wanted to…" Eliot said stuttering to a halt. Then when Sophie kept staring at him and none of the others said anything and he drew a deep breath closing his eyes for a second before continuing. "We had to get you out of there, they were going to…Sophie we had to get you out of there and Nate…we couldn't take him with in his condition so we left him and…" He stumbled to a halt.

Silence followed…a seemingly endless silence that was filled with angst and tension. They were all waiting for Sophie's reaction to the admission that they had left Nate behind and he had died alone at the hands of the men who were actually after her.

"I don't understand…" Sophie said softly a silent rage growing inside of her. "You LEFT Nate there…you ran away and left him there with…with who…who are the men you are talking about…who…I don't understand…You are telling me you…Eliot left NATE with people who were going to kill him and…you LEFT him?" Sophie said trying to figure out what was going on, her head was swimming and her heart was pounding as she started to hyperventilate. The world was closing in on her and her mind screamed out at her that they were telling her Nate was dead but she did not want to believe it. "I don't understand…I'm dreaming right…this is a dream" She muttered to herself. "This is a dream…this isn't real…" She repeated. "You would never leave Nate, Eliot you would never leave Nate not when you know he is in danger…Nate is not dead…" She said shaking her head as she started to shake as emotions welled up inside her. Her body hurt, her head hurt but her heart felt like it was about to explode with pain and sorrow as she tried to digest what they were telling her. She felt her vision blur as tears welled and the overwhelming emotion engulfed her.

"Sophie…" Eliot said sitting down beside her. "Easy Sophie…" He said gently. "Easy now…" Eliot said anxiously taking hold of her as she fell backwards and back into unconsciousness.

"Is she alright?" parker asked anxiously.

"No Parker…" Eliot said laying her back in the bed and then pulling the blanket over her again. "No she's not alright."

"None of us are." Hardison muttered.

Eliot was about to answer him when his phone started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked down at the caller ID. It was a private number. He swiped the screen and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Eliot…My name is Karen Biggilo…"

"The news reporter…?"

"Yes and a friend of Jim Sterling." Karen acknowledged quickly not wanting him to hang up on her. "He gave me this number and told me to call you."

"Where is Sterling?"

"That man Bordoli took him to Homeland Security offices. He's been confined there and I can't get to him. He called me to arrange the conference. Then he called again a few minutes ago, he was cut off and I tried to call him back but his phone is off and I can't. I don't know what is going on Eliot but Jim is my friend and I am worried."

"Why did he ask you to call me?" Eliot said still suspicious of the woman.

"You don't trust me. Jim said you wouldn't. He said to tell you he is sorry about the coffee in Dubai." She said not understanding what it was about but Sterling had told her Eliot would understand and know she was on the level. "Look Eliot I don't know what is going on here, but Jim also said for you to remember Massey…"

"Remember Massey…?" Eliot repeated slowly. Then he realised what the message meant. "What else Karen…did he say anything else?"

"No…I think somebody interrupted him because he put the phone down and now it is off." Karen told him.

"Ok Karen…thank you. Can I contact you on this number?"

"Yes but…"

"I'll be in touch." Eliot said interrupting her and killing the phone.

"Nate's alive." Eliot said looking up from the phone at Hardison and Parker who were both staring at him.

**Thanks for reading and for taking the time to review, it is really nice to know what my readers think about the story and the chapter. So what do you think Eliot and the team will do? What about Sterling, what is happening with him? What condition is Nate in, is he still alive?**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Nate came around slowly, he felt as if a heavy weight was on him and his breaths came in sharp gasps. He opened his eyes and found himself looking into the face of a man he did not recognise.

"About time you woke up Mr Ford." The man said with a strong British accent.

"Who are you…?" Nate asked his voice raspy. He swallowed hard and found his mouth was dry and his throat was sore.

The man brought a straw to his lips and told him to take a sip which he did. He welcomed the cold liquid that slid down his throat giving him some relieve from the dry scratchiness.

"Not too much there…" He said as he pulled the straw away from Nate. Smythe-Jones turned and put the glass back down on the small table beside the bed and then turned back to Nate. "Now Mr Ford old man, I need some information from you."

"Who are you?" Nate repeated as he tried to push himself up in the bed but failed miserably as he found he had no strength in his arms and the effort nearly took his breath away.

"My name is John Smythe-Jones."

"Where am I?" Nate asked knowing he was no longer in the hospital, this was not like any hospital room he had ever been in and he had been in a few. Also this man was not a doctor.

"You are in a secure area Mr Ford. You were attacked because you were involved with a Rudgar and Samuel Milliard, they were at the hospital to finish the job so we removed you for your own safety. Now I need to know where those two gentlemen are and you are going to tell me."

"British Secret Service..." Nate said, it was not really a question but more like a statement.

"Very good Mr Ford, very good indeed, you are correct. Now I am here to locate the Milliards and a certain Lord Archibald Massey and please do not attempt to convince me you do not know these men." Smythe-Jones said.

"I don't know where they are." Nate said honestly.

"Come now Mr Ford you do not expect me to believe that."

"Believe what you want." Nate said.

"He's awake…?" Another voice interrupted them. This one was not British but very much American.

"Yes…of course I was about to call you." Smythe-Jones said turning away from Nate and towards the new person who had joined the game.

"Mr Ford…" The voice said and a man's face came into view as he leaned over Nate. "Mr Ford I am Agent Art Bordoli from Homeland Security. What do you remember of what has happened to you?"

"I was in a car accident." Nate said.

"Yes and you were shot…not once either if the doctor is to be believed." Another voice cut into the conversation. "Look we don't have time to play games. Mr Ford, you were enquiring about a Rudgar and Samuel Milliard when you went to see Kovski. Now we need to know where those two men are, so you are going to tell us everything you know about them and about Lord Archibald Massey."

Nate did not respond. These men were not here to help him, they wanted information. How much did they know he wondered? Did they know about Sophie and the others? Surely not, they were safe in Portland. How did they know he was looking for the Milliards? They said the two attacked him at the hospital, that must have been where they connected him to them, and of course they knew they were connected to Massey and hence they assumed he knew about him too. He had to keep Sophie and the team out of this. These men were dangerous and would probably do whatever they needed to in order to get what they wanted. Whatever happened to him, he had to protect the others.

"Mr Ford, I suggest you cooperate with us." Bordoli said softly. "It would be in your best interests to do so."

"I don't know where they are…" Nate said softly. "I don't…" Suddenly he stopped and shut his eyes tightly as he felt as if somebody had put a tight strap around his chest and was tightening it slowly. He tried to take a deep breath but instead he gasped not able to get enough oxygen in.

"Doctor…" Bordoli said seeing that Nate was in distress.

The doctor who was standing just back from them moved forward. "He is in cardiac distress…" the doctor said pulling out a syringe. "I warned you about this…" He said then called for his nurse.

The three men stepped back from the bed as the doctor and his assistant worked on Nate. A few minutes later Nate was once again unconscious and the doctor stepped away from the bed.

"We need to speak to him." Smythe-Jones said irritably as he looked at the unconscious man.

"Well either he was going to be unconscious or dead." The doctor told him. "Which would you prefer?"

"How long is he going to be out?" Rites asked before the British man could answer.

"Look I don't think he is going to tell us anything." Bordoli told them feeling the tension rising between everybody. "Maybe he will speak to Agent Sterling, we should bring him in here and leave them alone."

"We don't have time to mess around." Smythe-Jones said irritably. "The press is on to it and the incident at the hospital peaked some interest and somebody is going to dig too deep. We have to end this as soon as yesterday."

"We all understand the consequences of not ending this Jones…" Bordoli said. "But killing him is not going to solve the problem, we need information not a corpse."

"Fine…"

"If he doesn't give us the Milliards he can give us the woman, but he won't tell us a thing. Sterling neither, but Sterling might let it slip to him where the woman is to reassure him she is alright." Rites said continuing on Bordoli's line of thought.

"I think you give him too much credit." Smythe-Jones said disgustedly. If they would just leave him alone with the man for a while he would get the information he had out of him. He and his government had to most to lose if any of this got out and he felt they were not as committed as he was to ending it.

"Well I don't. I have read his file and this man is not going to give us anything." Rites said. He knew the type, he would rather die than give up his people. If he knew where the Milliards were or Massey for that matter, he would have told them, he was almost sure the Ford would use them to get Rudgar and Samuel, they were definitely after his people and he would do anything to protect them he was sure of that.

"Right let's get Agent Sterling in here." Bordoli said pulling out his phone to instruct Sterling to be brought to them.

Ten minutes later Sterling walked into the room. He immediately went to Nate's side and studied him. He looked almost dead, but the slow peep of the heart machine told him Nate was still fighting on. He had known Nate was not dead, it was clear that him passing just as the doctor put him in a body bag was a set up to make him think he was dead. They needed Nate, they needed information and they needed Sophie so they would do what it took to keep him alive for that.

"We thought you would want to be with your friend Agent Sterling. Our doctor said he should wake in a little while. Perhaps when he does you can convince him that cooperating with us is in his best interests." Bordoli said as Sterling looked up at them after making sure Nate was still breathing.

Sterling said nothing, he had nothing to say to any of them. He pulled up a chair and sat down beside Nate turning his attention back to the unconscious man.

"We will leave you alone." Rites said as they retreated from the room closing the door behind them. Sterling listened but did not hear the distinctive click of a lock.

As soon as the door was closed Sterling took time to study the room they were in. He saw at least two camera's and was sure that there were listening devices as well. Did these people think they were idiot's he thought a little angry at their lack of respect for him. What were they hoping would happen now? Nate would wake up and they would talk openly and give away Sophie's location? Well they had another thing coming he thought scowling slightly.

"Anytime you want to wake up Nate..." Sterling said looking at the man. "I would appreciate some company."

**Thanks again to everybody who took the time to read and review, I really appreciate each and every one of them.**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

It took two hours for Nate to surface again.

"About time you came round." Sterling said as he saw the Mastermind's eyes flicker open.

Nate blinked and then closed his eyes. He must be dreaming, or hallucinating, that could not be Sterling standing their talking to him. He opened his eyes again tentatively to see Sterling still standing there looking down on him.

"Sterling…" Nate said in a raspy voice.

"Yeah…" Sterling said. "It's a long story." He continued seeing the confusion on the sick man's face. He reached over and grabbed the glass of water that stood beside Nate's bed and offered him some which Nate drank thankfully.

"I don't understand?" Nate said. The last thing he remembered was being grilled by a British Secret agent and somebody from Homeland Security. How did Sterling end up in the mix.

"Well you got yourself into some trouble and as per usual I had to come bail you out." Sterling said dryly.

"Where are we?"

"In the offices of Homeland Security, on a secure level about twenty foot underground. They want some information from you on the Milliards and a Lord Massey. Oh and by the way…you are dead, at least to the rest of the world."

Nate's eyes went wide at that statement. His first thought was of Sophie and what she would be going through.

"Yeah…not a happy thought I know. They tried to pull that one over on me too but I wasn't biting. Then they tried to sell it to me that they had pronounced you, you know…in order to protect you. If the Milliards think you are dead they won't be coming after you etcetera, etcetera…"

Nate opened his eyes again and stared at Sterling. If they had told the world that he was dead, then Sophie and Eliot and the others would think so too…Sophie…his chest hurt at the thought of her. Was she even still alive? Yes…yes she had to be, she was doing better when he last spoke to Eliot. God he thought, how long ago was that. His sense of time and space were gone, he did not know how long it had been since his visit to Kovski.

"Did I have any other visitors?" He asked softly.

"Yeah…" Sterling said knowing what he was asking. "They however had other obligations and declined these guys' invite to stay."

"All of them?" Nate asked anxiously.

"Yes all of them. They all left together and they are all fine." Sterling told him seeing the relief flood over him at his words.

"So what's the plan?" Nate asked wryly.

"You asking me…?" Sterling said lightly. "You are the great Mastermind."

Nate just rolled his eyes and lay back in the bed closing his eyes. He was sure Sterling had a plan, and he was sure the man was not saying much because they were being monitored. Sterling had to know that he was in no condition to walk out of here so he wondered what the man's plan was. If the others thought he was dead, they would come after the three men they thought responsible, but they also had the Milliards to deal with. He felt a slight twinge on pain and the monitors started to speed up as Nate's heart rate climbed.

"You need to take it easy Nate." Sterling said with concern. "Just take it easy will you, I don't want those news reports to become the truth."

Nate lay back and closed his eyes tightly, his chest felt like somebody was putting a tourniquet on it and he was having to concentrate on breathing. The thought of Sophie out there somewhere in danger and hurt and him in here unable to help her was killing him. At least he knew she had the others with her but what was the woman thinking coming all this way in her condition. The last time he saw here she was having electric paddles applied to her, her heart was not beating and now she is travelling the country getting into more danger instead of staying safe. He was going to have to have a word with Eliot when he saw him. The more he thought about it the more worked up he got and the more the monitors started to scream out alarms.

"Nate…" Sterling said taking him by the shoulders. "Nate dammit…just breathe…"

At the alarms from the monitors a doctor entered the room and pushed Sterling to the side as he leaned over Nate. He immediately injected something into Nate's IV line and almost instantly Nate subsided into the bed falling back into unconsciousness. The doctor then checked a few other monitors and nodded to himself before turning and leaving without saying anything to Sterling.

Sterling moved over to the bed once he had left and then sat down again. He sat back in the chair and put his hands in his pockets making himself comfortable as he waited for Nate to wake again.

At the warehouse Sophie was still past out. Hardison was trying to pull up all the schematics on the building Nate and Sterling were being held in, although they had established that the building was protected by a Sterenco and that was not good news for them. Eliot had figured out Sterling's clue and when the woman had told him that Sterling had said 'Remember Massey' he had immediately known he was talking about Nate and that the Mastermind was still alive, just like Massey had been when he was reported dead by the British all those years ago.

"Hey is that her again?" Hardison asked pulling Eliot out of his thoughts as he referred to the Hitter's phone that was ringing. He looked down and shook his head…it was not a number he recognised.

He pressed the accept button and listened before speaking. The line was silent, not dead, but just quiet. He put the phone on speaker and indicated to Hardison to put a trace on the call.

"So Nate…you don't look to good man but at least you are still alive and kicking right…" Sterling's voice carried over the phone. "Here we are stuck somewhere deep in the bowls of this damned building. I doubt that the other people in the building know what is going on though. We were brought in through the back and kept hidden as it were. Sterenco system though…you know those, difficult if not damn near impossible to beat, you would have to have an ID of somebody in the building. Well there is no way we are going to get one of those. They have kind of isolated us down here, don't want the rest of the building to know about us…might be a way out through the back, but with you in this condition, I guess we aren't going anywhere and with them all thinking you are dead…no rescue. Even if they did want to rescue us…there is no way they are getting you out of here. Of course you are at least safe here, the Milliards are definitely not going to get to you and they will keep you alive as long as they need you. So as long as those other four idiots stay out of their grasp you should be fine. Catching the Milliards is what I would do if I was out there and they were in here, if they are going to give Nate up it will be because they want something else, something more important to them…of course I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them but there it is."

"It's definitely coming from the building." Hardison said once the line went dead.

"He's right. Nate is safe where he is at the moment. We should concentrate on the Milliards." Eliot said. Sterling was telling them what to do. He was giving them a plan. They had not heard Nate, but at least they knew he was still alive.

"Yes catch them and make them pay…" Parker said.

"No Parker. The only way to get Nate out of there is to give them what they want, they want the Milliards. They want to get rid of any link to Massey, we need to prove Massey is dead and we need to get the Milliards. It's Nate's only chance."

"You know Sterling really is Nate…only not so evil Nate this time…" Parker said. Nate would have found a way to get them information even though it was impossible.

"Yeah…well let's get to work." Eliot said. "Hardison we need to change our focus, we need to find the Milliards."

**Thank you all very much for the reviews. So do you think the team are going to be able to find the Milliards and be able to take them alive? Will Bordoli and the others agree to an exchange if they do? What about Sophie and Nate will they survive and will they get the reunion I know you are all waiting for.**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"What do we do now father?" Samuel said as they sat together in the study of Kovski's mansion.

"We finish what we started."

"Father…I understand that Uncle Archie was important to you and I understand that you feel you need to finish his business. But look at the situation, Ford is in the custody of Homeland Security and we will not be able to get into that building. We have no idea where the woman her friends are. On top of that we now have Homeland Security, the CIA and MI5 after us. We are in a strange land without any aide, except for Kovski who would just as soon kill us as help us and you want to finish the job?" His son said deciding now was the time to voice his opinion. He knew his father was going to be angry with him, but so be it, they were on a foolish errand, a mission that should have died with the person who was fulfilling a personal vendetta. They should get out of the country and back to their home as soon as possible, this was not their fight any more.

His father did not reply immediately. He simply stared at his son making him squirm under his gaze. Then he stood and poured himself another vodka from the wet bar before turning back to the young man.

"You do not know what Archibald and myself went through together. The bond we had was stronger than brothers…stronger than family, you have never suffered at the hands of the enemy so you would not know. I will finish this, for him. I will honour his wishes and seek justice for him. If you do not have the stomach for it then leave, go home with your tail between your legs. I do not need you to get this job done, I will do it myself."

"Father I was not…" He stopped as his father held up his hand to silence him.

"If you decide to stay then there will be no more of this, you will do what is necessary and sacrifice what is necessary to get the job done. Decide." His father said sitting down and taking a sip of his vodka while he waited for his son's decision.

"Of course father, I will remain here and help you to honour Uncle Archie's wishes." Samuel said.

"Good…now go and get Kovski, we have planning to do." Rudgar said showing no outward sign of the relief he felt at his son's words. He would never let the boy know how much it pleased him that he would stick by him through this, even to his own death if need be.

Rudgar watched his son leave and then poured himself another glass of vodka before taking his seat again and waited for Samuel to return with their host.

"You wanted to see me." Kovski said as he entered the room. He was annoyed, this was his house and this man had imposed himself upon him and was now summoning him, as if he was there to serve him.

"Yes. You will make men available to me, I will also need weapons. I will need the schematics to the Homeland Security Offices here in New York. I will need this room set up as my control room, I will need computers, my son will give you my requirements." Rudgar said then turned away dismissing Kovski.

Kovski stood for a few seconds as he contemplated the back of the man who had just barked out orders to him. He wanted to tell the man where he could get off, but he knew doing so would bring more trouble than it was worth. Rudgar Milliard had contacts in very high places in Russia and although this was America, Kovski knew that he had to tread lightly. He swallowed hard fighting back his anger.

"You will have what you need. My men are at your disposal as well as my house." Kovski said between clenched teeth. Then he turned and left. He walked directly to his own room motioning his second to following him.

"Boss…?" His second asked as he followed him into the room and closed the door behind them.

"Damn that son-of-a-bitch…" Kovski fumed as he poured himself a drink and downed before pouring himself another one. Then he took a deep breath and turned to his man who stood at the door watching him. "Make sure Milliard gets what he wants, make sure he is taken care of."

"Yes boss…" He said, he had not seen his boss this angry before and wondered why he was putting up with the Milliards, bending over backwards for the men.

"I also want you to get the word out…quietly…" Kovski said pouring himself another drink. There was a way he could solve this problem and end Rudgar Milliard.

"Word…?"

"Yes…get the word out that I want to see Eliot Spencer..."

"Boss…?" His man said confused and surprised by the request. His boss hated Spencer and the rest of Ford's crew. They had cost his boss a lot of money and a lot of face and not two days ago they had orders to kill Ford, now he wanted to talk to Ford's muscle…?

"Just do it." Kovski said noting the surprise in his man's voice. "Make sure you are careful about it though, if the Milliards find out what I am planning, we are all going to suffer, so take care of this yourself, and do it quietly." Kovski said. Milliard had overstepped the line. Nobody came to his house and spoke to him like he was their lackey. He could not do anything to the man, he had to give him what he wanted. Milliards contacts and affiliations made it far too dangerous for Kovski to challenge him. Well HE would not. Milliard had killed Ford, and he was sure that Spencer was looking for revenge with the rest of Fords crew. He would be seen to be doing everything in his power to help Millard, and in the background he would let Spencer and the rest of them take care of the man for him. As much as he hated them, he would use them, it was the only way he could make sure the Milliards got what was coming to them.

"Consider it done boss." His man said then left the room to make his arrangements.

"You'll get what is coming to you Milliard..." Kovski swore as he downed another glass of vodka.

**Again thanks again for all the great reviews…really appreciated.**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

**Sorry it took so long to update…but better late than never right?**

"So what do we do Eliot?" Parker asked as they all sat around the workbench Hardison had set up. "How do we get to the Milliards?"

"They want me." Sophie said brining all eyes to her. "They want me so make me the target, they'll come after me."

"No!" Eliot immediately replied shaking his head. "It's too much of a risk. We know how good these guys are and I can't be sure I can protect you if you are exposed."

"It's the only way to draw them out and THAT is the only way we are going to get Nate." Sophie said in a tone Eliot recognised. The woman had made up her mind.

"Sophie we can't…" Parker started to say before Eliot's phone rang loudly. All of them turned to the Hitter and waited. It might be Sterling again with news of Nate.

"Speak…" Eliot said answering the phone. It was not the number Sterling had been calling from and he did not recognise the number at all.

"Eliot Spencer?" A voice with a heavy Russian accent asked.

"Who are you." Eliot asked his brows knotting in concern. How had this man gotten his number?

"Mr Kovski would like to meet with you." The man said without answering Eliot's question. "If you want to know where the Milliards are you will be at 113 Milford Road in one hour." He continued and then the line went dead.

"Eliot who was that…?" Parker asked seeing the look on the Hitter's face.

"One of Kovski's men. He said Kovski want's meet, he wants to give information on the Milliards."

"How did he get your number?" Hardison asked immediately nervous.

"I don't know…" Eliot said. There were very few people who had his number, and he could not think of any one of them who would give it out to anybody, unless there was a good reason too. He would have to contact them and find out if anybody had. The other option was that Hardison could get anybody's number, who was to say Kovski did not have somebody who did the same for him? Hardison rolled his eyes at the Hitter when he said as much, nobody was like him…but it was conceivable that Kovski had somebody that could get a number, unlisted or not. That made the Hacker nervous and he immediately pulled up all his surveillance around the warehouse, if they could get Eliot's number, they could trace their location too.

"It's a trap." Hardison said looking up from his screens. He did not trust Kovski, and who was to say this was Kovski's man and not Rudgar's.

"Definitely…" Parker agreed.

"Eliot…" Sophie said keeping her eyes fixed on the Hitter. "You are going to meet with him." It was a statement and not a question. She agreed with the other two and thought it was a bad idea but she could see the Hitter was going to go anyway. She was very good at reading people, especially her own team and she could knew he was going, not matter what any of them said.

"Why would Kovski want to help us?" Hardison asked. "There is no way he wants to help us. He is working with the Milliards. Let's not forget that is was his men put a bullet in Nate. How do we even know this is from Kovski and not Samuel or Rudgar…" He asked voicing his earlier concern.

"I agree with Hardison, it's too much of a risk." Parker said.

"You are both right…except…what if Kovski has his own reasons for double crossing the Milliards. It's a risk worth taking. And if it is the Milliard's, then we have our opportunity of taking them." Eliot said. "You two stay here with Sophie. I'll go meet with Kovski…see what the man wants."

"No. We all go together." Sophie said locking eyes with the Hitter. "Nate got himself into trouble going it alone. I got myself and all of you into trouble going it alone. We do this together, whatever we have to do we do it together. If it is the Milliard's you can't do this on your own…no arguments."

"Sophie…"

"This is not a debate Eliot." Sophie said holding up her hand to stop him.

Eliot was silent keeping his eyes locked with the Grifter in a battle of wills. The other two remained silent as they waited.

"Fine…" Eliot finally acquiesced. Sophie would follow him anyway and the others would not leave Sophie. Maybe she was right, they always were better as a team.

"So where is the meet?" Hardison said. The decision was made and it was one he was happy with.

"113 Milford Road." Eliot and Hardison immediately input the address into his system.

"Building down town...Condemned and abandoned." Hardison said as the information came back almost immediately. "Not the best area in the Big Apple."

"Ok. Well he said an hour, that doesn't give us much time." Eliot said gathering his stuff. He looked up at Parker and raised an eyebrow. Parker nodded and stepped away. She returned a minute later with three guns and handed them to Hardison and Sophie tucking one into her own waistband.

"Ok…let's go." Eliot said climbing into the car. "Sophie…you are in no condition to go running around. You and Hardison stay back… Parker and I will go into the meet." He looked at her and saw she was ready to argue so quickly continued. "If it is a set up, you will have to find a way to get us out." Eliot said as he pulled out of the warehouse and headed in the direction Hardison had given him.

Hardison used the time to hand out the coms and checking and double checking his equipment. He also took the time to research the building and the area they were going into, there were no camera's he could tap into, he had hoped there would at least be some traffic cam's, but there was nothing, they were going to go in blind. The building was in a part of the town that used to be industrial but a lot of the buildings now stood empty and abandoned, probably used by the homeless and the drug addicts as squats. It was isolated and perfect for a clandestine meeting. They pulled up a short distance from the building.

"Be careful you two." Sophie said as Parker and Eliot climbed out.

"Don't get yourself killed…" Hardison said pulling Parker into a hug and holding her to him tightly. Parker responded patting his back gently. She had grown used to Hardison's emotional nature over the years and although she too had grown emotionally, it was just not in her nature to be as touchy feely as it were as Hardison was.

"We'll be monitoring. If there is trouble, we'll be there…" Sophie said then climbed back into the car with Hardison and watched as he got his equipment going.

Parker and Eliot walked towards the building both of them noticing everything around them.

"On the left…" Parker said under her breath. Eliot acknowledged the observation quietly. He could see a man who stood to the side of the building watching the two of them approach. As they drew closer he stepped forward making sure his hands were visible and empty of weapons.

"Mr Kovski is waiting for you inside." The man said. Eliot recognised the voice as the one from the earlier phone call.

Eliot nodded and he and Parker followed the man into the building. Both of them were on high alert watching for any sign of a trap. The inside of the building was dimly lit and they could just make out the figure of the man they had been summoned to meet. Kovski was alone although Eliot had no doubt somewhere in the shadows of the cavernous space he had men watching and waiting for the first sign of trouble.

"Spencer…" Kovski said as the two approached ignoring Parker completely.

"Kovski..." Eliot replied.

"The Milliards are going to make a run for your man Ford." Kovski said getting straight to the point.

Eliot smiled at the man then. If Hardison could not get them into that building there was no way the Milliards were getting in. Nate was safe of that he was sure.

"I see you are sceptical." Kovski said seeing the smile and knowing what Eliot was thinking, he himself did not believe that anybody could have gotten into the place, but he knew better now. "Do not underestimate the connections of these men, it would be a grave mistake." Kovski said.

"Why are you helping us?" Eliot said the smile gone from his face.

"I have my reasons. If you want to stop them you will have to make your move quickly when I give the signal."

"Where are they?" Parker asked speaking for the first time.

"They are at my house." Kovski answered still keeping his eyes fixed on Eliot and not even looking at Parker. "You cannot take them there though."

"Then what are you suggesting?" Eliot asked.

"I will let you know when they leave. There can be no comeback to me you understand. You will have to intercept them when they make their move."

"I cannot guarantee there will not be casualties." Eliot said knowing that the Milliards would be using Kovski's men to assist them in their run at Nate, he doubted they would go alone, and he was not going to pussyfoot around and if Kovski's men got in the way...

"Do not worry yourself about that. My men will be expecting you." Kovski said. His men would not try to stop Eliot from taking the Milliards, if however it seemed as if Eliot would fail, then they would be under instructions to kill the men themselves along with the Leverage crew. This could not come back to him, it if did and the Milliard's escaped, then his life would be worth less than a busted penny…there would be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Like he had told Eliot, Rudgar Milliard's reach was far and wide.

"How do we know we can trust you? You tried to have Nate killed." Parker said still angry about the fact that Nate had taken a bullet dispatched by one of Kovski's men. She had played the scenario in her mind of them going after the Milliards and realised that they would be vulnerable to Kovski's men if they ignored them and concentrated on the Milliard's. She did not trust this man, he would take any opportunity to kill any one of the team, she was sure he was still angry about what Nate and the team had done to him a few years ago.

"You don't." Kovski said knowing what the woman was thinking and seeing that Eliot's mind was going to in the same direction. "However if you want to save your boss, you will have to."

"If you double cross us Kovski…"

"Yes, I understand." Kovski said. He was playing a dangerous game here. If his men did interfere and they did not kill Eliot, the Hitter would come for him, and he knew how good the man was. "You will just have to trust me in this. Make no mistake Spencer, I am not your friend, in fact I am sure you are aware that it was my man's bullet that put Ford in the hospital here." Kovski continued, it was pointless denying it. "But as they say, the enemy of my enemy…for the time being…is my friend."

Kovski's man then approached the group and whispered something into his ear. Kovski nodded and looked up at Eliot again as he man stepped back.

"Use it or not, my man will inform you when they make their move. I must go now." Kovski said turning and walking into the gloom of the building. Eliot and Parker watched him go and then heard a car starting up and pulling out of the building. Then they both turned and headed back towards where they had left Sophie and Hardison.

"Do you trust him?" Sophie asked as they climbed back into the car.

"No…but we don't have much choice here." Eliot said starting the car and heading back towards the warehouse.

"So now we just wait for his call?" Hardison asked. He hated waiting and they had done way to much of that as it is.

"Yes, we wait." Eliot confirmed feeling the same way as Hardison did.

As they pulled into the warehouse Eliot's phone rang again and he recognised the number as the one of Kovski's man. He pressed the accept button and waited. A voice on the other side told him that Rudgar was putting his plan into action within the next four hours. Then the line went dead. Before Eliot could relate the news his phone rang again and this time the call was from Sterling's phone.

"Sterling…"

"They are moving us. I don't know where…but it will happen in the next couple of hours…" Sterling said urgently. "I can't talk more, they are coming in again…" Sterling said and the phone went dead before Eliot could say anything.

"Eliot…?" Sophie asked anxiously as Eliot put his phone down.

"They are moving them." Eliot said.

"That's how the Milliard's are planning to get to Nate." Parker said.

"Yes…well not if we get there first." Eliot said putting the car in reverse and pulling back out of the warehouse and headed towards the building Nate and Sterling were being held in.

**I must apologise for the long delay in posting but once again life got in the way of my plans. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you all so very much for your reviews. Hopefully there will be no further delays and I will go back to my usual regime of postings.**


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